Love Takes no Less
by loveconquers20
Summary: AH/AU Damon and Elena are almost two complete strangers both reeling from their own separate losses ,but Elena has a secret that may forever change both of their lives. Maybe a little change is exactly what they both needed after all.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello Everyone. This is just a little story I thought of. Hope you enjoy it! :)**

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><p>Elena felt the soft breeze of the August wind blowing her hair against her face. Her plane had just landed in her hometown of Mystic Falls, Virginia where she was determined to rebuild her life. Moving to New York was a challenging experience that left her emotionally wrecked and confused. She was all alone in the big city and as beautiful and great as it all seemed, she found herself running in the opposite direction. There was too much heartbreak and pain associated with living there, and no matter what she did, it only increased exponentially until it became unbearable. Her life's purpose was being redefined right before her eyes, and she knew the only way to cope was to go home to the people who loved her most, and start over. Even knowing that her family and friends would be there couldn't ease her mind or her conscience with the magnitude of the secret she was keeping. This life altering secret would come out sooner or later, and she figured it'd be best to come out with it, because there's really no way she'd be able to hide it forever. She wanted to relieve herself of this burden as it was almost suffocating her, but she'd have to wait for the right time.<p>

She couldn't believe the mess that was now her life. Less than six months ago, she was in a committed relationship with the man she was sure she would marry; she was promoted to head chef at one of New York's finest restaurants and for the first time her life seemed to make sense. Everything was falling right into place and her life was just as she imagined it would be at twenty-five.

What she didn't expect was to find her boyfriend of three years in bed with one of the kitchen assistants from her restaurant. Her relationship with Matt was riddled with trust issues from the very beginning, but after dating on and off for a few years, they agreed to put his past indiscretions behind them and decided moving forward would be for the best. For a while they seemed like the picture of bliss, and Elena couldn't be more grateful for a new beginning. Matt had even hinted that he wanted to take things to the next level, which left her in a constant state of anticipation and excitement. Her mind was filled with images of her and Matt walking down the aisle and cutting a six tier wedding cake. She could almost see herself in that elegant white dress that she often stopped to gaze at whenever she walked by the bridal shop down the street from the restaurant.

Instead she found herself back home in Mystic Falls, Virginia, her life even more complicated than before. Mystic Falls held some of Elena's most unpleasant memories; it was the place where she had almost lost everyone who was important to her. She had lost both her parents, her aunt Jenna and she even came close to losing her brother Jeremy on multiple occasions. Despite it being her home, she spent most of her life thinking the place was cursed or something equally ridiculous. The fact that she decided that moving back there was better than staying in New York spoke volumes about just how urgent it was for her to leave the big apple.

"Elena!"

Elena looked passed the crowd to see her best friends Bonnie and Caroline rushing toward her with open arms. The three of them had been best friends since the first grade and were inseparable all through-out grade school. Even as Elena moved to New York they always kept in contact and visited her more than her own brother.

"I can't believe you're here!" Caroline squealed pulling her into a suffocating hug. The perky blond held on tight until Elena was literally gasping for air.

Once she was released from Caroline's embrace, Bonnie took the opportunity to welcome her friend, hugging her gently. "It's nice to finally have you back Lena."

"It's nice to be back. I never thought I'd say this but I actually missed this place."

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><p>"Mrs. Salvatore, we just need you to fill out these forms before we can proceed." Dr. Bradley explained.<p>

Anetta Salvatore stood grief-stricken beside her sons as she looked down at her husband's nearly life-less body.

In a few hours her husband, the love of her life, Giuseppe Salvatore would be taken off his life support and this was to be her final goodbye. For three years her husband fought and lost the battle with cancer. He had spent the most of his remaining days in the hospital being subjected to countless rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. Despite everything the doctors tried the cancer only became more aggressive.

"The papers can wait!" Damon snapped. "Can we have a little privacy? Is that too much to ask?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Salvatore, I'll be outside if you have any questions." With that the doctor quietly stepped out shutting the door behind him.

Damon watched in silence as his younger brother and mother wept at his father's bedside. He told himself that he was keeping it together for them, but he wasn't sure if that was actually true. To say he and his father had a strained relationship would be the understatement of the century. There were times where he felt nothing but pure hatred for the man, but he could never forget the love he and his father shared when he was a much younger boy, before Stefan was born and before Giuseppe's law firm became the most important thing in his life, before his family took a back seat.

Damon both admired and hated his mother's ability to forgive and love his father in spite of everything, he couldn't decide if it made her strong or fool for sticking beside a man who didn't seem to value or appreciate her for the loving soul that she was. His father was not an easy man to love. He was stubborn, arrogant and hot tempered. It was a known fact that his father had many mistresses, and didn't even put much effort into hiding the fact. In the face of it all his mother remained faithful and true, forgiving Giuseppe's every indiscretion and loving him in spite of it all. His father's treatment of his mother caused Damon to hold a lot of resentment toward his Giuseppe, not to mention work always came first, before love, before family and before anything else. However this didn't keep Giuseppe from expressing utter disappointment and disapproval about everything regarding his son's lives and decisions.

Damon would never forget how many times he had to console his younger brother whenever his father missed another birthday party or school function. _"Don't cry Stef. I'm sure dad would be here if he could."_ He must have repeated those same words to his younger brother a million times when they were growing up, but it wasn't long before both Salvatore brothers realized that they held very little meaning or truth for that matter.

Anetta Salvatore pressed one last kiss to her husband's forehead before reluctantly being escorted out by her younger son, leaving Damon alone to say his last goodbyes.

"Well I guess this is it." Damon started, standing awkwardly beside his father's bedside. He and his Giuseppe hardly ever spoke to each other, they engaged in plenty yelling matches but speaking was something they never did. Damon found it quite sad that his father had to be pretty much dead before he could feel comfortable being open and honest with him.

"Look I know mom expects me to stand here and tell you how much I love you, and how much I'm going to miss you when you're gone. But the fact of the matter is, you've done so much to tear this family apart and frankly I'm almost one hundred percent sure mom will be better off without you. At least now when she doesn't receive a birthday present or an anniversary gift it'll be because you're dead, not because you couldn't care enough to remember. If Stefan and I are ever lucky enough to get married or have any children we'll take solace in knowing that the reason you're not around is because you're dead not because you couldn't care enough about your own children to be there for anything that matters to them! "

Damon felt his resolve fading and soon the tears began to burn the back of his eyes. He had tried to prepare himself for this moment ever since the doctors told them that their father would never wake up. He convinced himself that he could do it, that he was detached enough from his father and none of it would mean anything to him. He never imagined that despite everything his dad had done to hurt them, it'd still be so hard to say good bye.

"Why did you abandon us, dad?" He asked in an almost childlike voice. "Didn't you care even a little about the two people you brought into this world? Why weren't we enough for you?" By then the tears fell freely from his eyes and his voice broke with every word; the anger in his voice quickly being replaced by twenty-seven years worth of hurt and pain.

"You know a lot of people say we have similar personalities, you and I. While that may be true, it doesn't make us the same person, no not at all. God knows I'm furthest thing from a saint but I couldn't imagine treating any child of mine the way you treated us. If I am ever lucky enough to have any children, I'll spoil them with so much love and attention that they'll never know what it feels like to have a father like you!" He spat out, his tone laced with anger and resentment.

Damon quietly examined his dad's lifeless body; there was a giant plastic tube protruding from his father's mouth, and a million other tubes and wires that were sustaining his father's life. He felt a strong tug at his chest at the image of his father Giuseppe Salvatore, one of the most successful and powerful attorney's in the country, lying helplessly completely dependent on a machine to breathe. Damon took a long hard look at his father, before uttering his final words.

"You know what sucks most about this dad? After everything you've done and all that you failed to do, I can't even bring myself to stop caring about you. God, it would make everything so much easier, if I could just stop caring about you just like you stopped caring about us. But I can't, which is why I'm here crying like I'm five years old again. Crying because I still love you dad and I always will even if you never loved me enough."

He moved closer to his father's beside and gently squeezed the older man's hand. "Good bye, Dad."

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><p>"You're room is upstairs first door to your left, mine is right across from it. Bathroom is down the hall, the Kitchen is down stairs, and this is the living area. I'm so happy you agreed to stay with me, it'll be just like old times!" Bonnie exclaimed excitedly, causing Elena to flinch at the high pitch sound of her voice.<p>

"Thanks Bonnie, this is such a lovely place you have here." Elena commented, Bonnie's apartment was much nicer than what she was accustomed to back in New York. It was spacious and beautifully decorated. The walls were off white with gold accents, paintings of dark orange, brown and red hung from the walls giving place a very warm and inviting feel.

"Hurry up and get unpacked we need to catch up!" Bonnie was so happy to have her best friend back and refused to let Elena rent out an apartment when she had two empty rooms in her apartment. She and Caroline missed their friend so much they fought over who Elena would stay with. In the end Bonnie won because she lived alone and Caroline's shared her apartment with her boyfriend and another child hood friend of Elena's Tyler Lockwood.

By the time Elena was unpacked and went downstairs Bonnie was in the middle of an urgent phone call from what Elena guessed was the law firm where she worked. She heard Bonnie gasp in disbelief about whatever she was being told on the other line. She heard her utter condolences to someone and hung up.

"That was my boss's son, he died earlier today and he just wanted to let me know that he'll be coming over to pick up some documents." Bonnie explained. Elena remembered Bonnie's constant complaints about how unreasonable and arrogant her boss was, but the look on her friends face told her that despite hating the man's guts Bonnie was really devastated that the old man had past on.

"I'm sorry to hear that" Elena offered giving Bonnie's shoulder a small squeeze. "What's going to happen to the firm now that he's gone?" Elena inquired immediately worrying about her friend's job security.

"I don't know, he has two sons who also practice law, maybe someone will take over." Bonnie replied. "One of them will be here in a moment, try not to mention it okay, he and I are pretty close, he's doesn't really like sympathy or pity." Bonnie worked with Damon a few times whenever Giuseppe would send her out to New York to work on several cases. Damon's firm in New York had many helpful resources that weren't available to her in Mystic Falls.

"Don't worry I won't say anything." Elena said reassuringly.

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><p>She could recognize those cerulean eyes from anywhere. They plagued her every thought and haunted her subconscious. Now those same eyes accompanied by the remaining flawless features were staring her right in the face. She stood there trying to convince herself that he wasn't real, that he was just a figment of her imagination, a hallucination, whatever would help her believe that Damon Salvatore was not sitting in Bonnie's living room a mere two feet away from her.<p>

Much to her confusion and disbelief he didn't even appear to recognize her at all. There she stood before the man who waltzed into her life and turned it inside out and he didn't have the slightest clue who she was.

Damon slowly reached out his hand and brought hers to his lips, pressing a gently kiss on the back of her hand.

"It's nice to meet you Elena," he replied in a sultry tone. There was that smile again, the one that had her falling into his bed just months prior, the smile that could light up the whole city of Mystic falls and literally sent tingles down her spine. She hated that it still had the same effect on her despite now learning that she was clearly just another faceless girl who just happened to fall into his bed.

"It's nice… to meet…you too," Elena stuttered, failing to hide the apprehension in her tone. She noticed Bonnie questioning glance and quickly averted her eyes as to not give herself away completely.

"I forgot to mention Damon's from New York too; he's here in Mystic Falls indefinitely dealing with some personal matters. Actually I'm surprised you two haven't met, Damon's law firm is merely a few blocks from your old restaurant." Bonnie added, doing her best to shake off the bad feeling in her gut. Something was wrong and she'd known Elena long enough to know that her friend was no blubbering idiot who's intimidated by a gorgeous man.

"No, it seems that Damon and I didn't run in the same circles." Elena quickly replied, praying that this conversation would come to end. He didn't recognize her and the last thing she wanted was to afford him some epic moment of clarity. She had to figure this out on her own first before making any rash decisions that could have lasting consequences.

"Strange, you look oddly familiar, but I can't imagine I would ever forget a lovely face such as yours," Damon provided, giving her another one of his charming smiles. She could feel his eyes scanning every inch of her body, and she fought the urge to run out of the room.

"Cool it Salvatore," Bonnie shoved him playfully. "Elena is my best friend; she's not one of your little conquests okay? There are plenty women on the founders council who are just waiting to drop their panties at your command."

"Bonnie I'm hurt, after all we've been through is that really all you think of me?" Damon asked pretending to be offended.

"Pretty much," Bonnie replied matter of factly. "Would you like something to eat, or would you just prefer to sit here and make Elena uncomfortable?" She questioned, glancing over to where her best-friend stood with her arms wrapped around her abdomen. Bonnie was even more convinced that something was wrong now, it's was almost as if Elena was having some kind of allergic reaction to Damon being in her living room.

"Actually, I'm going to head out. I have a meeting with the funeral director in a few minutes, and I'd rather not keep her waiting," he responded suggestively. "It was nice seeing you Bonnie, and Elena it was definitely a pleasure to meeting you," he added giving her one last long look, almost as if he were struggling to put the pieces together in his head.

Elena felt her breath hitch in her throat as she waited for him to finish assessing her features. _God, does he know? He can't possibly remember, can he?_

Soon her suffering was brought to an end, when Damon shook her hand, squeezed Bonnie into a tight hug and made his way out the living room door.

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><p>"Want to tell me what that was all about?" Bonnie asked not even seconds after the door closed.<p>

"What do you mean?" Elena replied doing her best to avoid any eye contact. She was always a terrible liar, especially when it came to those closest to her. No matter what she said, her eyes and her expression told different story, making it damn near impossible to tell a single lie. She hated that she wore her emotions so blatantly on her face.

"Really, Elena? We're keeping secrets now?" Bonnie was doing her best to guilt her friend into spilling whatever was bothering her. "Is it Damon? Look I know he seems like a complete tool, but trust me there's much more to him than that, but if he makes you uncomfortable—"

"No Bonnie, it's not him… I mean it's not what you think." Elena interrupted, taking a deep breath. She had just come to the realization that she had screwed up royally and now she would have the luxury of telling her best friend, how irresponsible and stupid she was to get herself in that situation in the first place. Before she knew it, the tears were spilling down her cheeks and her hands were trembling uncontrollably, tiny sobs escaped her lips as she did her best to get a handle on her emotions.

"Elena you're scaring me, what is it?" Bonnie persisted, rubbing small circles into her back, and tucking a strand of hair behind her ears. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. I'm here for you." Bonnie reassured enveloping her into a tight hug.

Elena felt herself starting to relax at the soothing gesture. At that moment she wanted nothing more than to open up to her friend about everything that's been troubling her for the past few weeks, but admitting it to Bonnie would make everything real. For the last few weeks, she'd been content with pretending that her life was not completely falling apart, and for the most part she had managed to fool everyone around her. If she admitted this to Bonnie, she would no longer be able to pretend and she'd be forced to own up to her mistakes and deal with the consequences.

"Remember a weeks ago when you called, me and I hadn't been feeling well for a few days?" Elena asked when she finally managed to get her emotions together.

"Yeah, oh goodness Lena is everything okay? Are you sick? What's going on, you're scaring me!" Bonnie reacted hysterically as she ran all the worst case scenarios in her head.

"No, Bonnie I'm fine, I'm not sick…" Elena reassured her, placing her hand over Bonnie's.

"Then what is it, Elena?" Bonnie asked impatiently.

"I'm pregnant." Elena blurted, feeling a heavy weight instantly lift off her shoulders.

"Pregnant? How is that even possible Lena, you never told me that you were seeing anyone. Did you and Matt get back together?" Bonnie knew her friend well, and Elena didn't do one night stands or casual sex. She often teased her best friend about her need to be in a committed relationship before indulging in any sexual activities, and as far as she'd known the only person Elena's ever been with was Matt Donovan, who she had met in culinary school a few years ago. They'd been dating on and off for a few years until a couple months ago, when she got a call from a heartbroken Elena who had informed her that she and Matt were done for good this time.

"It's not Matt's, Bonnie." Elena replied nervously. Telling Bonnie about the pregnancy was the easy part, the hard would be telling her that the father of her child just walked out the door less than half an hour ago. Still Elena couldn't even force the words to come out of her mouth.

"If it's not Matt's, then whose is it? Do I know him?" Bonnie was having a hard time making sense of everything her friend was telling her. None of it was making sense to her, she'd known Elena for as long as she could remember, and they told each other everything. They made a pact to never keep any secrets and she couldn't help but feel a little betrayed that her friend had been seeing someone and never bothered to mention it to her.

"I wasn't aware that you did, not until a few moments ago anyway." Elena replied still unable to muster enough courage to just come out and say it. However she was sure that hint was big enough for Bonnie to come to the correct conclusion, as she was still not able to utter those words out loud.

Bonnie's expression was indicative that she had indeed put two and two together, and bulging of her eyes almost scared Elena off. She wasn't sure what kind of reaction to anticipate, but at that point she preferred anything but the wide eyed stare that she was receiving from her friend.

"You…mean…you mean D...Da…Damon?" Bonnie stammered, unable to form a coherent thought. She couldn't believe what she was hearing; she couldn't even make sense of any of it. She just watched the two of them interact and she didn't get the impression that they had ever even met before.

Elena gave her a subtle nod, confirming her suspicions. She continued to wait for the hysterical reaction she'd come to expect from Bonnie, but instead her friend appeared speechless.

After taking a few moments to process the information, Bonnie finally spoke up breaking the silence between them. "I don't understand, are you sure? He doesn't even seem to know who you are, how are you having his baby?"

"It was the night, after Matt and I broke up, I went to the bar right down the street from the restaurant and that's where I met him. We had a few drinks, we talked and things just spiraled out of control from there. It was just one night…One night Bonnie… I was out of his apartment before the sun could rise."

"You mean you slept with him?" Bonnie inquired, refusing to leave out the most important fact.

"Yes." Elena admitted

"And you haven't told him about the pregnancy?"Now that Bonnie could think clearly, the questions seemed never ending.

"I tried, Bonnie. I've been trying to get a hold of him ever since the moment I found out. I must have called a million times, and left over a thousand messages. I even paid him a visit once but some woman by the name of Katherine informed me that he was aware of the situation and he wanted no part of it." Elena felt the tears stinging her eyes again, and soon they were spilling down her face again.

"She said I wasn't the first girl to try and trap him with some bogus pregnancy, and if I knew what was best for me I'd forget about him and find the real father of my child."

"I'm so sorry Lena," Bonnie replied pulling the slim brunette close to her and into her arms. "It's okay Elena, I'm here everything's going to be okay." Bonnie reassured.

"No it's not, Bonnie what am I going to do?" The whole reason I decided to move back home and open my restaurant here is so that I could get away from it all and now it seems all my problems keep following me everywhere I go." Elena let out between sobs. She couldn't believe her luck, the one time she slipped up and the results were disastrous, she ends up pregnant by a man who probably couldn't tell her apart from any of the tramps he usually slept with.

"That's the problem right there, Elena. You're running away when you should be trying to deal with this situation head on. You need to tell him Elena, he needs to know." Bonnie informed, as she continued to rub Elena's back affectionately.

"I can't Bonnie, you saw him… He doesn't even remember who I am." Elena sobbed at this realization. She was having a baby with a man who didn't even remember who she was, much less that he slept with her. How would he ever believe her? _Of course he won't believe you idiot! He'll demand DNA tests and ridicule you for even suggesting such a thing._

"You can't let that stop you, Elena. This baby is his, he has a right to know that, and you can't just keep it from him because you're afraid of what he'll think." Bonnie added going into full lecture mode.

"It's easy for you to say because you're not in my position, I told you I tried to get in contact with him in New York and his girlfriend or wife didn't have any nice words for me." Elena bit back defensively. She hated that Bonnie was right, but she wanted to deny it as long as she could because it was easier that way. It was easier to keep it from him instead of coming clean and facing the possibility of Damon rejecting both her and her unborn child.

"Look Elena, I never said it would be easy, but you know it's the right thing to do. You have to tell him. He has to hear it from your mouth, he has the right, and I know you can make the right decision."

Bonnie reached over and pulled her friend into a tight hug. Almost immediately Elena began sobbing uncontrollably, as her friend rocked her back and forth.

"I don't know if I can do this Bonnie." She admitted after her sobs subsided.

"Yes you can because I'm going to be right here for you."

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><p><strong>Feel free to leave reviews. I would love to know what you think. :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi Everyone. Thanks so much for the reviews. I appreciate them so much. Keep them coming! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing just borrowing the characters.**

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><p>Elena searched frantically through her closet desperately trying to find something that fit. It been nearly two months since she moved in with Bonnie and she had already put on ten pounds.<p>

"Elena, I thought maybe we could leave sometime tonight!" Bonnie shouted sarcastically from down stairs, growing a little impatient with her friend's never ending wardrobe crisis. It happened every time they made plans to go anywhere. Elena was growing increasingly self-conscious about her figure, now that she was starting to show. It wasn't too obvious, but anyone who was familiar with her previous slender shape could easily tell the difference.

Before she could shout again, the brown eyed brunette began descending down the stairs wearing a less than flattering, lose fitting brown dress. Bonnie gave her a look that clearly indicated that she didn't approve of the outfit choice.

"What do you want me to do Bonnie?" Elena asked sounding extremely defensive. "Nothing else fits. Everything is either too small, or too revealing."

"Hey, don't get all hormonal with me, I didn't say anything," Bonnie replied, trying hard not to laugh at Elena's behavior as of late. To say that she found her friends obvious change of behavior amusing since her pregnancy would be the understatement of the century.

"Well you were thinking it, I know you were." Elena gave Bonnie an accusatory stare before grabbing her purse and throwing it over her shoulder. "So are we going to leave, or are you just going to continue staring at me?"

"Want to tell me what's going on with you?" Bonnie asked sincerely, as much as she liked to secretly poke fun at Elena, she was really growing concern for the girl's sanity the past few days. "You're almost always stressed out, and you're hardly ever in a good mood. What's the matter Lena?"

"I don't know Bonnie, maybe it's the hormones like you said." Elena lied. She knew what was making her cranky; it was the guilt, the guilt of carrying a man's child and still not being able to muster the courage to tell him about it. Not to mention the guilt of keeping her condition a secret from all her loved ones, she still hadn't spent much time with Jeremy since her arrival. She was too afraid that he'd somehow figure it out on his own, afraid of the questions he'll ask her, because she wasn't sure she had the answers.

"You know there's more to it than that." Bonnie stated cautiously. "It's this whole thing with Damon that you haven't worked out yet, and it's slowly eating away at you Lena, I can see it." After many failed attempts at trying to convince her friend to come clean to Damon about her pregnancy, Bonnie decided to back off and let her tell him when she was ready, but as weeks flew by she was beginning to think that Elena would never tell him; and if her outrageous attempts to hide her pregnancy from everyone including her own family was any indication, she wouldn't be surprised if that was Elena's plan all along.

"You know it's more complicated than that." Elena began, hating that her friend knew her so well. "I can't just tell him Bonnie; do you have any idea how he'd react?" She knew how flawed that statement was before it even left her mouth; and she knew Bonnie wouldn't waste any time letting her know, or _rather preaching to her about_ how little Damon's reaction should mean to her, and how she should be thinking about what's best for her child.

"Really? Because it doesn't seem all that complicated to me Elena; you have a responsibility to this child and that man to be honest, regardless of how you think he'll feel about it." Bonnie began speaking just as Elena predicted she would. "Here you are worrying about trivial things like your feelings; this is bigger than you Elena. This isn't about you anymore; it stopped being about you the moment you decided to keep this child." Bonnie continued, voicing every opinion she'd been forced to suppress for the last few weeks. "Look I love you, and I'll love you no matter what; but you have to see that what you're doing has the potential to hurt more than whatever it is you're afraid of." Bonnie expressed, enveloping her friend into a gentle hug. She felt the hot tears as they rolled off Elena's cheeks and onto her shoulder.

"Can we leave now?" Elena asked, as she continued to hold on to her best friend. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew Bonnie was right. She couldn't even be angry with her, because she understood that everything Bonnie said is out of love and concern.

"Sure, but let's fix your make up first. I might not be able to do much about that dress, but the least I can do is not let you walk out of here with mascara running down your face." The two friends shared a genuine laugh before Bonnie led the way to the powder room.

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><p>"God, who are all these people?" Elena asked as she glanced around at the many unfamiliar faces in the well decorated ball-room at the Lockwood mansion. People were dancing, talking and clearly enjoying themselves.<p>

"You know how Mayor Carol Lockwood is about these charity functions. I don't think it matters who they are, the only thing that matters is that they're filthy rich." Bonnie replied barely glancing in Elena's direction, her attention obviously elsewhere.

"You should go introduce yourself again." Elena encouraged, not missing the way Bonnie's mouth nearly watered at the sight of Stefan Salvatore. "You're practically drooling over here, you should go over there; just pray he's not a womanizing jerk like his brother."

"God, am I that obvious?" Bonnie asked. She hadn't even realized how apparent her attraction to the younger Salvatore was. She thought she was doing a good job sneaking longing looks at him, but she should have known that Elena of all people would have figured it out. Still she couldn't understand what it was about him that made her just want to walk over there and kiss him senseless. They had only met once before, and she was taken aback by his seemingly calm and sweet demeanor. He was the complete opposite of his brother; while both Salvatore's were insanely good looking, Stefan almost seemed oblivious to the effect his emerald green eyes had on the women. Bonnie thought it was refreshing to meet someone who was ridiculously hot and yet so humble at the same time. Those two traits almost never coexisted in men these days.

"I can't go over there now Elena, look at all those women." She replied, secretly cursing those women for being both flawless and shameless at the same time. "He wouldn't even notice me; look at that blonde, goodness she's practically in his lap!"

"He looks really uncomfortable over there." Elena pointed out, forcibly removing the wine glass from Bonnie's death grip, before she could drink herself into a stupor. It happened every time her friend was anxious, nervous or afraid. "I think he's just waiting for someone to save him from those vultures." Elena looked over at the table where three scantily clad women shamelessly flirted and caressed the younger Salvatore, who wore a very discomforting expression. Not much changed since she left Mystic Falls; the women are still as desperate as ever, and these events just gave them the opportunity to meet rich successful men to sink their claws into.

"Come on Bonnie, go over there," Elena encouraged giving Bonnie a slight nudge. "I bet you two have tons in common, you know being lawyers and all."

"I think I'll wait until he's alone, and I'm a little more sober." Bonnie decided. "I'm going to find Caroline and Tyler; they should have been here over an hour ago."

Elena sat at the bar admiring the extravagant decorations in the ballroom. Carol Lockwood sure knew how to plan a party; Elena thinks the mayor might've gone into the wrong profession. It seemed she was more interested in throwing parties and galas then actually dealing with any of the real issues in Mystic Falls.

White silk table cloths covered the small round tables, which each held a table card with the name of the guests transcribed in fancy silver letters. Silver and white balloons floated across the room and decorated the stage where Mayor Lockwood gave her speech. Being pregnant and a chef, Elena just had to try everything on the menu and despite some minor critiques; the food was almost to die for. She was so absorbed in her critique of the food that she didn't even notice as Damon Salvatore sat on the stool right beside her.

"I remember you." He spoke in a gentle whisper. "You're the one who got away." Elena felt a shiver run through her spine at his sudden proximity. His lips gently caressed the shell of her ear as he continued to whisper in her ear. "I told you I couldn't forget such a beautiful face." After weeks of contemplating their meeting Damon finally remembered he and Elena's one night stand in New York. He just couldn't shake the feeling of having met her before, and the more he tried to ignore it, the more he thought about it. Until it finally came to him, they met at Denny's bar just up the street from the firm; it was just after one of the longest and most controversial trials of his career. After the victory he and some colleagues went out for a drink, and like most nights he took home a beautiful girl and from the pieces he remembered, it was probably some of the best sex of his life. He recalled just how responsive she was to his touch, how insatiable she seemed. They must have gone for four or five rounds before she finally collapsed on top of him from sexual exhaustion.

"Except you did," Elena responded almost bitterly, yanking herself away from him almost violently. "I think I'd like it if we kept it that way," she added stepping down from the stool and away from the bar. Her heart was pounded vigorously in her chest, as she realized that he had finally remembered who she was.

Before she could take another step, she felt him gently tug at her arm. "Why the attitude love?" Damon asked clearly confused, "From the bits I remember about that night I'd say we had a pretty good time, wouldn't you?" He wore his trademark smirk, the one she was sure had all the girls dropping their panties; she had to admit it was a beautiful expression, but she was still reeling from the emotional consequences of sleeping with him, so the last things she wanted to do is reminisce about their time together.

"I don't wish to relive the past." Elena replied, trying to hide the emotion in her voice. "What we had meant nothing, and I rather not dwell on it, if you don't mind."

"I just have one question." Damon asked, giving her a skeptical look. "Would you have ever told me, if I hadn't figured it out on my own?"

Elena stared at him blankly unable to respond as she thought about what he was asking her. The question hit too close to another secret that she kept from him. "Why does it matter to you anyway?"

"Most women don't avoid me after an experience like that." Damon responded egotistically. "I gotta say it's pretty damn impressive of you, I'm usually the one doing all the avoiding."

Elena couldn't help but roll her eyes at him as she waited for his head to deflate. "Well I'm sorry to inform you that I'm not most women, and I have no interest in reliving the past or dwelling on it."

"Who said anything about reliving it, though I must say I wouldn't be opposed to it." Damon smiled suggestively clearly enjoying the fact that he was getting under her skin and making her uncomfortable.

"That's it, I'm done here." Elena stated, grabbing her purse and walking away. "Look Elena, I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you." Damon called out as he rushed to her side. "I'm just confused as hell." He admitted honestly. "One night you're in my bed, and before I could wake up the next morning you're gone and I never hear from you again." He continued, searching her eyes for any clues about her seemingly hostile behavior toward him. "Call me whatever you want, a jerk with an oversized ego, but that just doesn't happen to me, _ever._"

Elena couldn't believe the words as they spilled out of his mouth. After his last ridiculous statement, she was convinced that there was no man or woman for that matter, more self absorbed and arrogant than Damon Salvatore.

"So because I might've had a lapse in judgment and slept with you, I'm obligated to be your groupie for all of eternity?" Elena asked sarcastically. "Thanks for the offer, it really is tempting but I think I'll pass."

She answered pushing herself past him.

"Well first of all I don't have groupies, just admirers," Damon replied in mock offense. "And secondly I just want to know why you feel so much hatred toward me; I'm sensing a lot of misplaced hostility and aggression from you, I'm not sure how you can be mad at me for rocking your world, most women would be grateful." Damon replied amusingly. He knew she was seconds away from smacking him after that last statement, but he didn't care. For some reason he really got a kick out of pissing her off, frankly it turned him on like nothing he ever experienced. Something about the way her brows knitted and her face scrunched up when she got mad just made him want to kiss her.

Right on cue her hand was smacking against his face, leaving a stinging sensation that burned several moments after she walked away. Damon stood there with his hand rubbing the spot on his face that still burned from her assault. He watched her walk away admiring the way her hips swayed from side to side, and made a mental note to beg Bonnie to put in a good word for him with Elena, because he was sure he just blew any chance he ever had after their little confrontation.

It had only been two months since he and Stefan decided to move to Mystic Falls and take over their father's law firm. Damon wasn't thrilled about moving to Virginia, he was a boy used to the big city and bright lights of New York City. Mystic Falls was a rinky-dink town in comparison. There was only one social establishment in the whole town, and every month the mayor held these seemingly pointless events in which all of the residence of the tiny town of nobodies were expected to appear. His love for his mother and the desire to put a smile on her face after such a devastating loss was the only thing that kept him from packing his crap and getting far away from Mystic Falls as possible. He knew it would make her happy to have him and Stefan nearby; after all they were all that she had left, and they couldn't even think of leaving her behind.

Now he was expected to build a life here in Mystic Falls when the place had almost nothing to offer in any department that interested him. The women were decent at best, but nowhere near as gorgeous and sexually talented as the women in NYC, with the exception of Elena of course, she had a fire simmering underneath all that good girl crap that he was just itching to reignite. He knew that was probably out of the realm of possibility after the way he just pissed her off.

Mostly there was just nothing to do there, he lived a really fast paced life in New York and he was sure this town was sucking the life and drive right out of him. He needed a distraction from it all, something or rather someone to keep his mind and body occupied until he could convince his mother to move to New York with them.

He knew just who to call. _Katherine. _She'd be on the first plane to Mystic Falls before he could hang up the though they'd officially broken up for good a little over two months now, they still kept somewhat of a civil relationship when they weren't using each other for sex. He and Katherine had a very difficult past and she's probably the reason he was so crippled when it came to love. At one point Damon would have died for her, he loved her more than anything; but Katherine taught him that such blatant displays of love and devotion would only serve to hurt him in the long run. Despite showering her with all the love and adoration, she still cheated on him repeatedly, even attempted to sleep with his brother of all people. She would often ridicule him whenever he tried to shower her with his attention, telling him how pathetic and foolish it made him. She was the reason he adapted to such a care free attitude when it came to women, he had been hurt to many times to ever let himself fall in love like that again. It wasn't until he was completely over Katherine that she showed any interest in him. She hated seeing so many women throwing themselves at him, and the thought alone was enough to send her into a jealous rage.

"Hey, I'm going to take mom home, try not to drink too much you still have to drive." Stefan informed his brother as he plopped himself down on the stool next to his brother.

"This is the first drink I've had all night, so no need to worry little bro I won't drive under the influence." Damon replied mockingly. He loved Stefan to death, but he couldn't help but feel like the little brother in the relationship sometimes, with Stefan always trying to look out for him and making sure he doesn't screw things up.

"Alright we'll be heading out then, call me if you need anything." Stefan replied giving Damon's shoulder a tight squeeze. He knew just how much his brother was having a hard time adjusting to life in Mystic Falls, but they made a promise to their mother that they would stay here and take over their father's business and Stefan vowed to do whatever he had to do, to make sure they kept their promise, and that mostly meant making sure that Damon remained focused and clear of any distractions.

"I'll be sure to do that." Damon replied giving his brother a sarcastic smile. After watching Stefan exit the ballroom, Damon turned his attentions back to Elena who was sitting at a table all by herself. He was beginning to feel bad about the way he teased her just moments prior and for some odd reason he cared about her opinion of him. He didn't want her to see him as some self- centered jerk, like he was sure he behaved a few minutes ago.

He walked over to the table and sat directly in front of her. "Look I'm sorry I was such a world class jerk just now." He offered staying far away in case she decided she wasn't done assaulting him yet.

"No need to apologize to me." She stated, seemingly disinterested in his presence all together. She didn't even look up from her plate, as if anything in the world was more interesting then speaking to him, especially her plate of linguine pasta.

"What are you? Pregnant?" Damon asked jokingly, completely unaware of the very fact. "Or do you have a tapeworm or something?" I've watched you eat almost everything in this place."

Elena almost choked on her pasta as she instantly forgot how to breathe. Tears streaming down her face, and she knew she was failing to hide the panic in her expression. The only think she could think to do was get up from her seat and get as far away from Damon Salvatore as possible. She got up from the table abruptly, needing desperately to find Bonnie and go home, she needed another good cry and she needed a sturdy shoulder to cry on.

Once again Damon sat there utterly confused by her bizarre reaction. "People here can't seem to take a joke. Everyone's so sensitive." He muttered to himself.

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><p><strong>Thanks again for reading. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to tell me what you think!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it. Enjoy**

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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><p>"God, how do you live here?" Katherine turned her nose up in contempt. "There isn't even a decent shopping mall within a fifty-mile radius." She pulled her dark brown wavy hair up into a tight bun. "And when are you going to get this air conditioner fixed, it feels like an oven in here."<p>

"Crack a window," Damon replied giving her look that clearly expressed his annoyance. He often wondered why he ever bothered to keep Katherine around. They were no longer in a relationship, and she infuriated the hell out of him most times they were together, unless those times involved the two of them underneath the sheets. Yet he still kept her around unable to let go of the past. Katherine was the first and only girl he ever loved in all of his twenty-seven years of life, so in some twisted masochistic way she still meant something to him; despite the fact that she pretty much shattered his soul beyond repair. Damon long made peace with the fact that he'd never be able to love anyone the way he loved Katherine years ago, no one could fully recover from that amount of heartache and rejection, and anyone who did would be a fool to risk putting themselves in that predicament again. So he learned not to commit, he never got too attached, and if he ever found himself developing an interest beyond sex with anyone woman, he'd quickly end it before things got any more complicated.

"Give me your keys. I need to find something to do around here, before I die of a heat stroke." She demanded.

"They're on the kitchen counter, just make sure you're back here by one-thirty" He announced not looking away from the computer screen. Being one of only two law firms in the tiny town of Mystic Falls was not as easy as he thought. The cases weren't as high profile or intense as they were in New York but they seemed to occur at double the rate. He mostly dealt with minor cases like car accidents and silly law suits. He mostly felt like his talents were going to waste taking over his father's business. He certainly didn't regard it as his best career move.

Katherine left without even so much as a second glance. She figured she'd drive as far as she needed until she found something to do. Damon seemed to have little interest in her these days aside from the sex. Once the mind-blowing sex ended, he tossed her aside like used toy, just like she had done to him so many times in the past. She didn't understand why this infuriated her, why all of a sudden she craved his attention, so much so that she'd fly to some Podunk town on a whim because he needed a distraction.

_Distraction._ That was all he regarded her as now. Just a distraction, she was no longer the love of his life or the center of his universe. She couldn't help the bitter taste it left in her mouth as she repeated the words he uttered to her over the phone. _"Hey Kat, I could really use a distraction from this mind-numbingly boring town, why don't you fly out here this weekend and keep me company."_

And like the desperate idiot that she was, she flew out there the very next morning, only to be discarded after the sex. Why did it even matter to her how Damon treated her? She couldn't exactly say that she was in love with Damon, but she sure as hell didn't like the fact that he didn't love her anymore. She hated that he could just seemingly get over her, and was using her the very same way she used him. Gone were the days where the sole purpose of his existence was to bring her joy. He began putting other people and things before her, and all it did was fill her with blood boiling rage. She wanted _her _Damon back, the Damon that would literally jump through burning hoops if it made her happy, the one who devoted every waking breathe tending to her every need and desire.

Still unsure of how she'd manage to do it, she knew she had to devise a plan to get him back. It didn't matter how many apologies or fake tears she'd have to muster up, but she refused to let him slip through her fingers again, after all she didn't fly thousands of miles just to be used for sex. Katherine planned on staying in Mystic Falls for a while, at least until she got him to come around. Once she had Damon eating out of the palm of her hand again, convincing him to move back to New York would be the easy part. All she had to do was find his weakness and exploit it; she was so good at it once upon a time.

* * *

><p>"Ooh let's look at baby stuff." Caroline exclaimed excitedly as she dragged Elena directly into the fancy baby boutique.<p>

"Caroline I don't find out the sex of the baby until next week, how could I possibly- - "

"We don't have to buy anything, Lena, we can just look around," Caroline interrupted. "God look at all this cute stuff! I'm so jealous of you right now." Caroline added, as she completely submerged herself in the rack of adorable onesies.

"Jealous of me? Right." Elena mumbled to herself. " I'm the one living whose basically living a lie and having a child by the biggest ass hole known to man, who by the way, doesn't know I'm having said child because I can't bring myself to tell him."

"Elena you're such a Debby Downer," Caroline replied rolling her eyes. "Yes you're in a really sticky situation right now, but why only dwell on the negative things?" She asked grabbing her friend by the hand. "In six months you're going to have a beautiful and healthy baby, I'd say that's more than enough reason for me to jealous of you right now."

"Elena, a baby is the most beautiful gift anyone can have, and you're having one. I think it's a reason to celebrate not live in a constant state of depression, so I say it's about time you start getting excited because this baby is coming whether or not you and Damon Salvatore have your crap sorted out."

Elena understood what Caroline was saying. It's not that she wasn't happy to have a baby, but she never thought it'd be under such circumstances. She loved children and was always very maternal, having pretty much raised her younger brother, but she imagined herself being happily married and settled down before she had her first child. Never did she anticipate bringing a child into a world where she was so unsure of so many things, it made her doubt her ability to actually provide and protect this baby the way he or she deserved.

"You're right Caroline; I should try to be a little more positive." She agreed, as she took in Caroline's advice. Despite her less than ideal situation, there was only one thing she could do, she had to make the best of it. Sitting around feeling sorry for herself wouldn't do her any good. In that moment she silently promised herself that once she and Caroline returned to Mystic Falls, she would ask Bonnie for Damon's number and meet with him to finally tell him the truth. Keeping this secret was slowly becoming tiresome, and surely it couldn't be good for her or the baby.

"Good." Caroline replied in a cheerful voice. "Awww look at this one, isn't it adorable?" She held out a onesie that read "Mommy's Little Boy." Elena reached for the delicate cloth, completely unprepared for the surge of emotions that it evoked from her. "It's so tiny," she whispered in a barely audible voice. She couldn't even imagine a human small enough to fit it.

"Yeah, Elena babies are tiny." Caroline reminded, eying her amusingly.

"I know that, but I guess I just never realize how small they really are." Elena fingered the tiny piece of cloth in her hand, picturing her unborn child in it. The warm fuzzy feelings came rushing back and she had to blink back the happy tears that threatened to fall.

Caroline could tell her friend was overwhelmed with emotion, and wrapped an arm securely around her.

"See, I told you. Having a baby is a happy time, I'm going insane with excitement, and so should you."

"I am." Elena smiled, surprised that she actually meant it.

They spent another hour looking at things for the baby, and although Elena made it clear that she wouldn't purchase anything, she just could not leave without getting those adorable pair of booties that Caroline nearly spent twenty minutes admiring on display.

"Okay now that we've looked at things for baby, time to really get down to business." Caroline insisted.

"Oh boy, here we go." Elena shook her head amusingly, Caroline was a drill sergeant when it came to fashion and wardrobe.

"Don't give me that Gilbert; I can't believe you wore that to Mayor Lockwood's event. Did you honestly believe you'd get away with that while I'm still alive?" Caroline asked, wearing an almost serious expression.

"No of course not Care, obviously I wasn't thinking." Elena entertained, trying desperately to hold in her laughter. Fashion was no joking matter to Caroline Forbes, and in her own words no friend of hers was allowed to look anything less than fabulous at all times, especially not at any social event. Elena knew she committed a serious offense based on Caroline's standards and she was prepared to do the time. This meant hours upon hours of her trying on outfit after outfit until they finally agreed on a few things, but she also looked at it as an opportunity to catch up and spend some quality time with her friend.

"Yeah you're laughing now, but you won't be in a second," the blond playfully chastised as she dragged her friend into yet another clothing store.

"You look amazing in that." Caroline commented as Elena walked out of the dressing room modeling a gorgeous strapless green dress.

"You don't think my stomach looks too pudgy in it?" Elena self-consciously eyed herself in the mirror, behind her.

"That's not pudginess Lena, that's your baby bump; you should show it off."

"So in other words I look like a whale." Elena commented as she continued to survey her every flaw. She was usually not this insecure, but ever since she became pregnant, it felt like all her flaws became magnified and things that never used to bother her all of a sudden became so important.

"You don't look like a whale; you look like a gorgeous woman whose expecting a child in six months." Caroline reassured. "Now come on less talking and more modeling."

"Thanks Care, "Elena giggled appreciatively. Something about Caroline Forbes always made her feel better no matter how bad she felt. Elena soon realized she had the two best friends anyone could have ever asked for in Bonnie and Caroline, they both knew exactly what to do and say when she was at her worst. Elena hoped she was a fraction of the friend to them as they were to her.

* * *

><p>Katherine listened attentively as the woman in the fitting room beside her spoke to a friend about her very difficult decision. She usually wasn't one for eavesdropping on stranger's conversations but after hearing the strangers mention Damon Salvatore by name she was all ears.<p>

_So have you figured out how you're going to tell him yet?_

_No I haven't, I just know that I have to; I can't keep it a secret anymore, Care. I'm starting to show and it's only going to become increasingly obvious from now on."_The second voice replied.

Katherine was almost positive that voice sounded strangely familiar.

"_How do you think he'll take it?" _The first voiced question.

"_Well he's Damon Salvatore, who knows how he'll react". _

With that Katherine, was positive she knew the voice. _I can't believe that little desperate whore followed him all the way to Mystic Falls with her bogus pregnancy allegation._ She thought to herself.

Katherine thought things were made perfectly clear to Elena when she showed up on her doorstep in New York that Damon wanted nothing to do with her or that child. Even going to great lengths as to change their phone number to ensure the woman had no contact with Damon, and now this same woman was in Mystic Falls with her same story about carrying Damon's child. It was difficult enough trying regain Damon's affection, the last thing she needed was some other woman and her bastard child ruining what could be her only chance to get him back to New York.

She slowly exited the fitting room going unnoticed by either woman. Katherine knew exactly who to call for advice on what to do, her best friend Lucy could scheme up something really clever to make sure she did something about that pesky Elena Gilbert for good this time.

* * *

><p>"Where the hell have you been Katherine? I told you I had to be at the office at two o'clock it's four thirty!" Damon shouted instantly regretting letting her borrow his car. He should have known better than to expect Katherine of all people to be considerate enough to actually care about his job.<p>

"Geez sorry I got held up, it's here now, no needed to get all worked up," she grunted tossing the car keys in his direction.

"I had to cancel the appointment thanks to you." Damon was prepared to hear Stefan's endless nagging about missing the appointment with his client. His brother already believed he didn't take his job here serious enough and now he just gave him yet another reason to doubt him.

"Whatever I'm going to take a shower, want to join me?" she offered suggestively peeling off the layers of clothes that covered her olive skin, leaving a trail of clothes from his bedroom to the bathroom.

"No I think I'll pass." Damon answered not even a little tempted by her offer, he was far too furious to partake in her little silly mind games.

"Well suit yourself, "with that she made her way into the shower leaving him standing in the middle of the room regretting he ever asked her to come see him in the first place.

A loud ring snapped him out of his thoughts and soon he realized it was Katherine's obnoxious ringtone. He figured he'd let it ring and she'd deal with it once she was out of the shower, but whoever it was just kept calling back over and over, clearly desperate to get in contact with Katherine. Damon picked up the phone and slid his finger against the call button and before he could even say hello he heard the annoying shrill that was Lucy's piercing voice on the other end blabbing away urgently about something.

_Oh my goodness Katherine I just got your message, did she seriously she say she's having Damon's child?_

_She has to be lying right? What do you want to do about this? You can't let him find out! What'd you say _

_her name was again? Elaine?_

Damon felt his heart pounding rapidly in his chest as he processed the words coming from the other end of the phone. Someone by the name of Elaine was having his child, he swallowed hard desperately searching his brain for anyone by the name Elaine, he was sure he never heard that name before. The closest name he recognized to an Elaine was Elena. _Elena!_ It had to be her he thought, but how on Earth would Katherine know anything about Elena, not to mention that she'd be having his child, something he wasn't even aware of. Before he could put the pieces together, Damon could hear Katherine mumbling something about forgetting her soap, and making her way out of the bathroom. He quickly hung up her phone and tossed it back on the bed where he found it, needing desperately to leave the bedroom before he did something that would land him in jail.

He decided a walk is just what he needed to clear his mind and process everything he'd just heard. Before he even took two steps outside his apartment he saw Stefan's silver convertible pulling up into the parking lot.

"Where the hell were you today?" Stefan didn't waste any time expressing his disapproval about Damon missing the appointment with their client.

"Not right now Stefan, I'm in a middle of a fucking crisis!" Damon snapped. Stefan immediately realized something was wrong. "What happened, what's going on?" Stefan asked, already feeling the panic rising in his chest, ever since he got the call about his father's death, he wasn't so good with handling devastating news, he always assumed the worst, he half expected Damon to tell him he was dying.

"I don't even know… I mean I know… but I'm not sure…I… just, I don't know" Damon stuttered having a hard time verbalizing exactly what he knew.

"Okay… Okay… Just start by telling me what you think you know." Stefan stated giving Damon's shoulder an affectionate squeeze.

"I think I heard… I mean I'm sure I heard Katherine's friend Lucy say Bonnie's friend Elena, is pregnant…"

"Okay…" Stefan gave his brother a confused look.

"With my child!" Damon shouted, searching his brother's face for any reaction.

The color quickly drained from Stefan's face and he stood there almost ghostlike. "Damon you mean to tell me you've slept with her already, we haven't even been in town-"

"This was before we moved here, back when I was still in New York!" Damon interrupted. "She must have moved back here around the same time that Dad died."

"So you slept with her in New York, and it just so happens that she's pregnant and decides to move here at the time of dad's death, well that's one hell of a coincidence." Stefan laughed amusingly. "Are sure she's pregnant, she didn't look pregnant to me."

"I'm not sure… I'm not sure about any of it; all I know is what I heard," Damon couldn't believe how his whole life changed in a matter of minutes; it was all starting to make sense to him. The way she behaved toward him that night at the Lockwood party, her running away crying when he made the joke about her eating everything in sight.

"Most importantly if she is pregnant, how can you even be sure it's yours," Stefan questioned, trying to consider every possibility.

"I don't know." Damon admitted honestly, for the first time in a long time he was at a complete lost for words. He didn't have any of the answers, he was only doing his best to make sense of the little information he knew.

"The weirdest part about it is Katherine knew about this and she didn't want me to find out, I don't even know how she'd know about this." Damon thought out loud.

"Are you surprised?" Stefan asked, Katherine isn't exactly the most trust-worthy person Damon. I was sure you'd pick up on that by now." Stefan remembered how Katherine practically threw herself at him despite having been in a relationship with his brother for over five years. "You have to talk to her Damon, Elena I mean, you need to find out the truth before this thing gets blown way out of proportion," Stefan advised.

"What the hell am I supposed to say?" Damon asked. "Oh hey Elena, by any chance are you having my baby?"

"No you start off by telling her what you know, and she'll either confirm or deny it." Stefan explained, trying to ignore his brother's snarky attitude.

"Yeah easier said than done, she hates my guts right now." The elder Salvatore replied, thinking back on their confrontation at the Lockwoods, the obvious disdain the gorgeous brunette felt toward him did not go unnoticed by him, especially not after that slap that burned his cheek for the rest of the night.

"Well that's probably because you we're being your usual dick self," his younger brother explained. "Seriously Damon if that child is yours, you're going to want to know, so if I were you I would man up and get the truth out of her."

"You're right," Damon conceded. "I have to meet with Bonnie later this evening; I'll just get it over with right then and there."

"Sounds like a good idea. I have to be heading back to the office; I have a meeting to get to." Stefan explained before getting back into his car. "Good luck brother," he waved before pulling out of the parking lot.

* * *

><p>Elena and Caroline returned back to Bonnie's place, carrying about twenty bags from their shopping trip.<p>

"Elena you're going to fall on your face if you don't pull yourself away from that ice cream cone." Caroline warned as she watched her friend completely devour the frozen treat.

"I need to distract myself or I'll go crazy thinking about what my next credit card statement is going to look like." Elena laughed as they reached Bonnie's front door.

His intoxicating scent tickled her nostrils even before her eyes landed on him sitting across from Bonnie. There were files scattered all over the dining room table as the two of them appeared to be working on a case.

"Hi," Elena smiled nervously avoiding any eye contact. She quickly ran up the stairs and closed herself up in her room, where she finally let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding.

Moments later she heard Caroline's soft knock on the door and her friend quietly entered the bedroom, taking a seat beside her on the bed.

"Damon says he wants to apologize about the other night." Caroline informed. "He wants to know if he can come up and talk to you."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea Care,"

"Elena this is your chance to come clean, face to face. Didn't you just tell me that you wanted to get this over with so you can start being happy about this baby?" The blonde encouraged her friend.

"I do Caroline, but I just don't think I'm ready, I haven't even thought of what to say."

"Just be honest Lena, that's all you can do," Caroline advised. "So can I tell him to come up and talk to you?"

Elena contemplated her response to Caroline's question. On one hand she wanted desperately to get everything out in the open, that way she wouldn't have to hide her condition anymore; but on the other hand she wasn't sure she was ready to sign up for a lifelong commitment with Damon Salvatore of all people. But then again what choice did she really have in the matter?

"Yeah, tell him to come up." She agreed, letting out a nervous breath. Never in her life did she ever experience the amount of anxiety she felt at that particular moment.

As Caroline left her room, Elena gave herself a few moments to prepare herself for the inevitable confrontation with Damon Salvatore.

Moments later she heard a soft knock at her door, and she inhaled deeply before answering. "Come in,"

Damon appeared behind the door, gently pushing it close behind him. He couldn't make sense of all of the emotions that swelled up inside him at the moment. He never felt so many overwhelming and contradicting emotions all at the same time. He felt confused about the whole situation, he was angry at Katherine for apparently trying to keep it from him, saddened at the possibility that Elena might've wanted to him to have no part in this child's life, if it's even his to begin with, not to mention the feeling of joy at the possibility of having unintentionally created a life.

He let his eyes scan her room, and his heart raced as he spotted the tiny bag from Barbara's Baby Boutique.

How are you?" He asked, trying to make polite conversation, and doing his best not to lose his cool.

"I'm okay," she replied doing her best to avoid those piercing cerulean eyes.

"Look Elena, I have two questions that I need honest to god answers to, and you're the only one who can provide them." Damon began, deciding to skip the small talk and get right to business; he was never one to beat around the bush.

"Are you pregnant?"

Caught completely off guard by his question, Elena couldn't even form a response. _How did he know? _She thought to herself, the only people who knew about her pregnancy were Bonnie and Caroline and neither one of them would ever betray her trust.

"I'll assume that's a yes," Damon continued. "Is it mine?" He asked, running a hand nervously through his hair. _This is the moment of truth Salvatore._ He tried to prepare himself for her reply, but her lack of response was making him even more anxious.

Elena just stood there with a blank expression on her face. She completely froze, unable to move or form the words yes or no. A million thought ran through her mind but she was unable to verbalize a single one, she just kept staring at those blue eyes that were full of questions and emotions she couldn't exactly decipher.

"It's a simple question Elena yes or no?" Damon urged growing a little impatient. Her lack of reaction made him a nervous wreck. Damon Salvatore was a lot of things cocky, confident, but never nervous, and he didn't particularly like the feeling.

Elena felt like her throat was closing up, it was becomingly increasingly hard to breathe, and out of nowhere the room started spinning and soon dizziness consumed her.

Damon noticed her obvious physical discomfort and despite his own raging war of emotions, he instinctively sought to comfort her.

"Elena, are you okay?" He asked, as he watched as she slowly lost her balance. He slowly reached over and attempted to steady her using his body to support her entire weight. "Elena…Elena… Can you hear me?" He asked, growing increasingly terrified by her lack of response.

"Mmmmmh," She moaned slightly, feeling a pair of strong arms wrapped around her torso. Another wave of exhaustion washed over her and her eyelids felt heavy making it harder to keep her eyes open. She could barely see him surveying her features through the slits of her eyes, and she held on to him for dear life as she felt her surroundings slowly beginning to fade.

"Elena, look at me." Damon commanded. "I'm going to lay you down right here." He placed her gently against the plush pillows.

Damon placed his hand against her forehead attempting to get a feel for her temperature, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary, at least as far as he assessed.

"Elena, are you in pain? Should I call someone?"When she failed to respond again, he called out for Bonnie and Caroline, praying they'd know what to do.

"What did you do to her?" Caroline accused, horror etched on her face at the sight of her friend lying limply against the pillows.

"I didn't do anything, we were talking, and then she… just past out." Damon panicked, realizing how ridiculous it all sounded.

"Caroline, go downstairs and get my phone. Call an ambulance." Bonnie ordered, trying to maintain her composure amidst all the panic.

"Right, an ambulance." Caroline agreed, rushing out of the room to search for Bonnie's phone.

When the ambulance arrived Damon stood back in complete shock as Elena was carried out. Everything happened so fast that he wasn't even sure he could recall most of it. One minute he's about to get some defining answers and the next thing he knew the woman who was possibly carrying his child was laid out on a stretcher being carried away to the nearest hospital.

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><p>Damon watched as Bonnie and Caroline paced back and forth in the hospital waiting room. It had been over an hour and they still hadn't gotten much information. The nurse just kept reassuring them that she'd be okay and that they'd only be running a few tests.<p>

"Is there a Mr. Damon Salvatore present?" The bubbly read-head nurse appeared, startling them all from their thoughts.

"Is she okay?"

"Can we see her?" Bonnie and Caroline both bombarded the woman nearly knocking the files out of her hand.

"Yes… I'm Damon." Damon stood abruptly, rubbing his hands against his pants in an effort to remove the sweat from his palms

"Ms. Gilbert requested to see you sir."

Damon gave Bonnie and Caroline a nervous look before following the nurse over to Elena's room.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading. Don't forget to let me know what you think :)<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thanks so much for the reviews! **__**I really do appreciate you guys taking your time to let me know what you think! **_

_**It might be a little while until the next update because I have finals soon, and I probably won't get back to the story until that's over with, but I'll try to get back as soon as possible.**_

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><p>"How are you feeling?" Damon asked, pulling up a chair beside her bed. It was almost physically painful to watch her lying there hooked up to an IV drip and god knows what else, knowing that he was probably the reason she was there in the first place.<p>

"Okay." Her voice was still very hoarse, and her throat felt uncomfortably dry.

"Here you should have some water." He reached over to small table above her bed and poured the water into the tiny plastic cup slowly bringing it to her lips.

Elena took a small sip of the cool liquid and almost instantly she could feel the intense dryness in her throat disappear. "Thanks."

"Look Elena, I didn't mean to—"

"No you were right." She interrupted before he could finish his last thought. "You have a right to know." Elena couldn't believe she was finally about to tell him the truth, and it only took her passing out and ending up in the hospital for her to actually come clean.

"I shouldn't have pressured you the way I did." Damon replied, feeling the need to take some responsibility for what happened. He still felt incredibly guilty about it, even as she tried to reassure him that he wasn't to blame. He figured this is what it feels like to be Stefan.

"As easy as it would be to blame you for this, it wasn't your fault Damon, I did this." She admitted. "I haven't been managing my stress very well these last few months and I guess it all just caught up to me."

He nodded in understanding, his inner anxiety betraying his seemingly calm demeanor.

"I'm sure you're expecting some answers, so we shouldn't waste anymore time." She added nervously. "I figured she never actually told you about me." Elena began, finally looking him in the eye. "Katherine was it?"

"No she didn't." Damon replied. "How do you know her?"

"Well I don't, but we had an encounter in New York, right after I found out." Elena still couldn't say the words out loud. It was all just too real, happening at such neck braking pace that she didn't even have time to process most of it.

"You mean after you found out you were pregnant?" Damon inquired now briefly holding her gaze. Those big brown eyes did something to him that he just couldn't explain, he felt like he was swimming in a warm sea of chocolate.

"Yeah, she informed me that you didn't want anything to do with it, so after spending days trying to get in contact with you I guess I just gave up." Elena admitted. She searched his face for a reaction, but he averted his eyes, concentrating on the plain square tiles on the ground.

"I knew nothing of it," he informed her in a low voice. The magnitude of the anger he felt literally scared the crap out of him, considering anger was never really a foreign emotion to him. He had spent most of his life repressing some form of aggression, at Katherine, but mostly at his father, but he had never experienced this feeling of complete blood boiling rage and hatred.

"I figured as much." Elena whispered mostly to herself. "Look, I don't expect anything from you, if that's what you're thinking."

"Obviously not," Damon responded almost bitterly. "Or you wouldn't have kept this from me for two months."

"Can you seriously blame me?" She asked incredulously "You didn't even know who I was when you saw me at Bonnie's; do you know how hard that was for me?" Elena began to sense his anger, but she couldn't decide if it was geared towards her or Katherine.

"So I guess that automatically makes it okay to keep it from me." He knew he was a dick for being unable to recognize her initially, he still couldn't believe he hadn't, he must have been really drunk because Elena Gilbert was anything but forgettable. The warmth that radiated from her big chocolate orbs affected him in a way no woman ever had, not even Katherine in her glory days. Her lustrous brown hair complimented them perfectly, and he could almost remember feeling of her soft delicate skin against his. She appeared almost ethereal, beauty unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Everything about her just seemed so pure and wholesome; and despite the fire that simmered beneath the surface, she carried this aura of genuine kindness and compassion.

"I didn't say that," Elena replied in a small voice.

"Then what are you saying Elena, because I'm having a hard time understanding."

"I didn't tell you because I was afraid." She finally admitted. "I was afraid of how you'd react. I didn't think you'd believe me." Elena was avoiding his eyes again, staring down at the blanket that covered the lower half of her body.

Damon knew this part would be the hardest, but it had to be done. He knew Elena wouldn't happy about what he was about to ask her next, but he just had to be sure. "Do I have any reason not to believe you?" He asked in a quite tone.

"Are you implying that I'm not being honest?" Elena asked immediately getting defensive.

"I'm not implying anything but you haven't exactly been forthcoming in the last few months."

"So you don't believe this baby is yours?" Elena couldn't believe her worst nightmare was slowly becoming a reality. At any moment she expected Damon to tell her he wanted nothing to do with her or her baby. It's what she always anticipated, what she always feared, and any moment he'd confirm her biggest fears.

"That's not what I said."

"What are you saying Damon? Because it that's exactly what it sounds like." Her voice was beginning to break as she struggled to keep the emotions at bay. The hormones were definitely taking a toll on her, all of her emotions seemed to be magnified and borderline irrational.

"I just want to know that you're absolutely sure this baby is mine." Damon clarified.

"Do you think we'd be having this conversation if I wasn't?" Elena shouted. "Like I said Damon, if you want no part in this, you're free to go; I can do this on my own!" She knew the last bit was a blatant lie. She was absolutely petrified at the idea of doing it alone, but she wasn't about to let him know just how much she needed him, afraid of showing any vulnerability or weakness, especially if he made it clear that he didn't want to be involved.

"I'm starting to think you're the one who doesn't want me to have any part in all of this!" Damon bit back. "You decided to keep this a secret, even when it was clear that I had no idea." He instantly regretted raising his voice at her, after all getting her all worked up and stressed out would only exacerbate her condition.

Before Elena could think of a reply, she heard the door swing open and the nurse came rushing into the room. "Is everything alright in here?" She inquired giving Damon a suspicious look.

"Everything's fine." Damon replied dryly, the woman's accusatory glare pissed him off all over again.

"Mrs. Gilbert, we ran some test, and the baby seems to be doing fine." The nurse informed Elena. "Though I am a little concerned about your blood pressure, it seems a little elevated. This is usually due to stress, I'm going to advise you take it easy from now on."

Elena's eyes wandered over to where Damon sat until they met with his. She could see the instant regret written all over his face as he took in the information the nurse provided.

"I'm Nurse Angie by the way. I can see you originally scheduled an appointment with Dr. Fell to find out the baby's gender next week, but we can do it now if you're up for it."

Their eyes were locked completely enthralled by each other. She searched his eyes for a response or any indication that he had any interest in this baby, as he looked for a sign that she wanted him to be a part of this experience. They both silently communicated their mutual consent and agreement, completely oblivious to the nurse who looked on clearly left out of the silent conversation.

"Yeah… That sounds good." Elena spoke, finally breaking out from under the spell of his cobalt blue eyes.

"Would you like me to call in your friends?"

"No, actually it's just going to be the two of us." Elena confirmed. For some reason she felt compelled to leave Bonnie and Caroline out of it. It was such an intimate moment and she wanted to prove to him that she wanted him to be a part of the experience; she wanted the two of them to make this thing work, whatever it was.

"Elena, are you sure, I don't mi -." Damon

"I'm sure," She interrupted giving him a small reassuring smile.

"Alright, this is going to be cold." Angie cautioned before placing the icy gel against her abdomen.

Elena sucked in a breath of air, still caught off guard by the cold thick substance being spread across her stomach despite the warning.

Once Nurse Angie got everything in working order, Damon and Elena could see the blurry image of their baby on the monitor, they were only able to make out a few parts, but they could hear the heartbeat, strong and steady. Damon swore he never heard a more beautiful sound in his entire life.

"This right here is the head," the redhead pointed at the monitor. "And it looks like we're having a boy, Congratulations!"

Elena didn't even realize she was crying until she felt the tears roll down her cheeks. It was all too much to take in; in that moment everything felt so real. She was having a baby; they were having a baby, her and Damon together.

"Hey, don't cry." Damon reached over and wiped the never ending tears from her face. He slowly joined her on the bed, gently wrapping an arm around her and pulling her into a comforting embrace.

"I'll leave you two alone." The nurse disappeared almost as soon as she said it.

For the first time in the last few months, Elena didn't feel completely terrified. She tried to tell herself that it wasn't because she was lying in a hospital bed in the arms of Damon Salvatore, but there seemed to be little else to explain the feeling; the feeling of complete security and acceptance.

"Damon, this is your baby and I _do _want you to be a part of his life." She admitted, her voiced was slightly muffled as her head rested against his chest. She adjusted herself so that she could look into his eyes, and what she saw sent her heart racing a million miles per second. His eyes held so much adoration and understanding, and all it did was make her want to curl up even closer to him.

"I know, and that's all I want." He used his free hand to rub tiny comforting circles around on her back. Elena wished they could just lie there forever. It felt so good to finally have everything out and in the open, no longer burdened by the secrets she kept or the fear of raising her son alone.

"We should probably get Bonnie and Caroline in here and tell them the news." Damon advised. He got up from where he sat on the edge of her bed to summon her friends who waited impatiently in the hospital waiting room. Elena immediately felt the effect of his absence, instantly missing the warmth that his body provided when it was pressed flushed against hers.

"Oh my goodness, I can't believe it's a boy." Caroline cried in excitement. "I totally called that today, when I picked out that onesie."

"I'm so happy for you Elena." Bonnie joined her friend on the bed. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Much better," Elena assured, instantly relieving her friends of their worry.

"I should probably give you girls some space." Damon announced. "Elena I'll check on you a little later, I just have to deal with something." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before reluctantly letting go.

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><p>"Get your shit and get out!" Damon shouted within moments of entering his apartment. He was experiencing various extremes of emotions. On one hand there was the indescribable feeling of joy after just having heard the sound of his son's heart beat, but even that couldn't erase the intense rage he felt toward Katherine.<p>

"So I guess you're just as gullible as I thought." Katherine announced. "God you're so desperate." Katherine spat. "Don't tell me you're all upset that I didn't tell you about that little tramp and her bastard baby."

"Watch your mouth!" Damon bit back, seething with rage. "Just get your crap and get out of my apartment!" Damon was growing increasingly impatient at her childish antics, so he took matters into his own hands grabbing her suit cases and tossing them out of the apartment. Throughout the years Katherine had wronged him in a number of ways but this was the final straw. He forgave her for a lot of things that most people would deem completely unforgivable, but for this he couldn't possibly forgive her. Every time he thought about the possibility of his child being out there completely unaware of his very existence, he wanted to destroy something.

"So you're just going to toss me out on the street?" Katherine asked, taking a cautious step towards him. He was a ticking time bomb, so she knew she had to choose her next words carefully. "Damon, what I did was for the best, why can't you see that?"

"For the best?" Damon let out a humorless laugh. "In what world is it best to keep someone from knowing about their child?"

"Oh please, how do you even know it's yours? Oh wait don't tell me, I bet your precious Elena told you so." Katherine replied in a mocking tone. "You've been through this before Damon, why are you being so careless now?"

"I don't owe you any explanations, I just want you to get your stuff and get out of my apartment."

Damon didn't have a single doubt in his mind that the baby was his. In the past he had women claimed that he fathered their children only for DNA test to prove otherwise. Elena on the other hand, didn't strike him as someone who would try and take advantage of him. From what he inquired from Bonnie, Elena was quite successful in her career as a chef. She worked as a personal chef for many big name celebrities and was the head chef at one of his favorite five star restaurants in New York, not to mention she had planned to open her own restaurant there in Mystic Falls. Elena Gilbert was a woman who knew exactly what she wanted, and had the drive and passion to get it herself. She didn't need any help financially, and he was sure he wasn't on her list of favorite people, so he couldn't think of any reason for her to lie to him.

That was more than he could say about the woman who stood in before him. Katherine came from a very wealthy family, and at twenty-six years old had never worked a day in her life. She was beyond spoiled, so used to getting her way that she'd resort to damn near anything to make sure it stayed that way.

"Are you even going to bother to get a DNA test?" Katherine asked ignoring his incessant demands.

"I don't see how this is any of your business; we're no longer together and after tonight I want nothing to do with you." Damon replied, counting to back-words in his head in an attempt to calm himself. It was trick he learned as a young boy after his mother insisted he needed anger management.

"Damon, I'm just trying to protect you." Katherine supplied, moving closer in an effort to touch his arm. He quickly brushed her off, before her fingers could brush his bicep.

"I don't need your protection Katherine, I can handle it myself."

"See there's your problem. What makes you so sure you can do this? You don't know anything about being a dad because you never really had one." Katherine knew she was hitting a nerve, but that had been her plan all along. She had failed at keeping Elena away, but she knew just what to say to get to Damon, she knew all his weaknesses and she was ready to go in for the kill. "Even if you are this child's father, I've known you for a long time Damon and this is one of the things I guarantee you won't be good at."

"You don't know anything about me." Damon replied in a less than convincing voice, unable to hide the insecurities that slowly crept in.

"I know that the best thing you can do for Elena and that baby is stay away." Katherine replied trying to gather every ounce of false sincerity in her body. "You don't want to screw up this child's life; this baby will only end up resenting you, like you resented your own father." Katherine watched as a slow realization made its way into Damon's eyes, and in that moment she knew she almost had him exactly where she wanted him.

"Face it Damon, you're damaged beyond repair, if you had even a shred of decency you'd want better for _your own_ child." Katherine added walking away, confident that she had finally gotten to him. Katherine gathered her scattered belongings and called a cab, leaving a confused and very conflicted Damon standing in the middle of his living room.

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><p><em><strong>2 Weeks Later<strong>_

"I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since you've heard from him." Bonnie said looking at her friend who seemed more interested in the baby catalogue than anything she had to say.

"Which one do you like more?" Elena replied, pointing at the various baby strollers on the page. "I like this one, but it only comes in blue and I swear this baby will not own a single blue thing, if I can help it."

"Elena, are you even listening to me?" Bonnie asked, pulling the catalogue out of her hand.

"What do you want me to say Bonnie? Obviously Damon doesn't know what he wants, and I don't have time to wait around until he makes up his mind." Ever since the moment they found out the baby's gender Elena had yet to hear from Damon. He didn't call; he never visited and practically avoided Bonnie at work. Elena couldn't believe things took a turn for the worst, just when they were looking up. She didn't know why she'd come to expect any different, her life has been a series of disappointments and tragedies. It was foolish and naïve of her to expect any different when it came to her situation with Damon, especially considering the way it began.

Elena didn't shed a single tear over Damon's absence. _What good could that possibly do?_ This baby needed someone who'd be there no matter what, and unlike Damon she didn't have the luxury of walking out whenever she felt like it, not that she could ever imagine not being a part of her baby's life in the first place. It was such an amazing feeling, loving someone that she hadn't even met yet, but every time she looked at that ultra sound photo her heart swelled up with an intense feeling of joy that was impossible to explain. In that moment nothing else mattered, just her and her baby, and together they'd overcome whatever obstacles that came their way. She often found herself smiling at the mere thought of holding her son for the first time; she even got into the habit of speaking to him whenever they were alone. She spoke to him about everything from the weather to her plans about her new restaurant.

She convinced herself to be glad that Damon flaked out before he could form any real bond with the child, at least her baby wouldn't have to endure the devastating loss after getting too attached. So maybe Damon did them a favor after all. Things could definitely be worst. What if it took years for Damon to come to the realization that he just wasn't cut out for this father role? She couldn't imagine having to console her child at five or six years old, after his father just decided to up and leave.

"There has to be a reason," Bonnie insisted. She knew Damon, and though he was a womanizing ass hole, he wasn't heartless, and he never went back on his word. Damon's word was usually as good as gold.

"It doesn't matter, Bonnie. All that matters is that he's not here now." Elena couldn't believe Bonnie of all people would try and justify Damon's behavior. "And whose side are you on anyway?" Elena asked glaring at Bonnie from across the table.

"It's not my job to be on anyone's side Elena; I just want what's best." Bonnie clarified, taking Elena's hand in hers. "I want what's best for you _and_ this baby."

"Well maybe this is best." Elena countered, not believing the words even as they came out of her mouth.

"You know that's not true, this baby deserves better than this Elena."

"Well what do you want me to do? I was honest, I told him I wanted him to be a part of this, and he couldn't have made it any clearer that he doesn't." Elena knew exactly what Bonnie wanted her to do. Her friend wanted her to reach out to Damon, and talk to him, reason with him, beg him to come back. Elena rolled her eyes at the very thought. She refused to beg Damon Salvatore to be a part of her baby's life; she already told him she'd do it on her own if she had to.

"Elena, just try and talk to him." Bonnie begged.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." Elena got up from where she sat disappearing into her room.

Bonnie didn't know what else to do; with Damon avoiding her at work and Elena being her usual stubborn self, she was left with no other option but to sit back and watch the whole thing unravel before her. It pained her to watch everything fall apart especially since she thought progress was being made. Bonnie suddenly realized what she had to do, she could work on Elena, but she needed someone to talk to Damon.

_Stefan!_ If there was one person she knew Damon confided in, it was his brother, if their interaction at work was any indication. Stefan was the best person for the job, he was the only person. Now all she had to do was gather enough courage to call him.

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><p>"Bonnie tells me you and Elena haven't been speaking." Stefan stated casually, pouring himself a glass of Damon's best liquor.<p>

"This is not happening. We're not discussing this right now, or ever." Damon replied, attempting to walk away.

"What's going on, did she say the baby isn't yours?" Stefan asked pressing on despite his brothers warning.

"No she said it's mine." Damon explained. "It's a boy," he added in a small whisper, stopping in his tracks.

"So I'm guessing this means you don't believe her." Stefan gave him a questioning glance, hoping Damon didn't catch on to the fact that they were in fact discussing it.

"I believe her."

"So what's the problem?" Stefan couldn't understand his brothers thought process. He knew his brother better than anyone and Damon may have been a lot of things, but skipping out on his own child was way out of character. He knew there was something more there, and he promised Bonnie he'd get to the bottom of it.

"The problem is Katherine finally said something that made sense, something that actually had some truth to it," he answered in disbelief.

"Oh, Katherine." Stefan laughed in amusement. "Of course, how did I not see that one coming?"

"What do I know about fathering a child?" Damon asked, searching his brother's face for the answers he didn't have.

"So you have some doubts." Stefan gave his brother a worried look. "Does that mean you run away and leave Elena to do this alone?"

"She'll be better off." Damon replied. "Look I said we weren't going to talk about this, and I meant it. This has nothing to do with you."

"I can't believe you let her get to you again, Damon." Stefan raised his voice. He was so sick and tired of Katherine waltzing into Damon's life leaving nothing but chaos in her wake. "You need to stop giving her so much power over you!"

"This has nothing to do with Katherine!" Damon shouted, tossing his glass of bourbon into flickering flames of the fire place where he stood. The tawny liquid reawakened the flames and Damon could feel the warmth spread across his entire body.

"Then what the hell is this about?" Stefan's voice rose to match his brothers. "This is all about Katherine, you just don't realize it. She knows just what to say to get you all worked up and doubting yourself."

"She won't stop until she pushes away everyone in your life, and you're left with only her." Stefan moved to stand right behind his brother. "You know I'm right." He let his hand rest on his brother's tense shoulders. "And besides, mom would be furious if you deprived her of those precious grandchildren she's been going on and on about."

The brothers both let out a soft chuckle at the mention of their mother. Their mother had been dropping hints that she wanted to bare the title of grandma for quite some time now, constantly nagging her boys about settling down and starting a family.

"What if she's right?" Damon asked in a gentle voice. He desperately wanted to believe what his brother was saying. There was no doubt in his mind that Katherine had her own agenda, but it didn't stop him from believing everything she said. He was unfit to be a father, and his son would suffer the consequences.

"You shouldn't accept that kind of defeat Damon. You take this as a challenge, prove her wrong, but most importantly prove something to yourself, to Elena and your son." Stefan said, before making his way back to where he sat on the couch.

"And besides if you walk away from this child now, you will regret it for the rest of your life." Stefan spoke silently.

"You think dad ever had any regrets?" Damon and Stefan never spoke about their father; they mostly just pretended Giuseppe never existed, the few times they did discuss the older man was only with each other. There was just too much pain and unresolved anger and resentment associated with their dad.

"I can't imagine he wouldn't after everything that's happened." Stefan eyed his brother solemnly, before taking a sip from his glass.

Damon nodded in a silent agreement, before pouring himself a new glass of bourbon.

"You know what you have to do right?" Stefan asked eying his brother attentively.

"Yeah… I know exactly I what I have to do." He pulled out his phone and scrolled down to Elena's number. He downed what remained of the amber liquid for courage before pressing the call button.

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><p><em><strong>Thanks again for reading, leave a review and tell me what you think! I love reading the feedback.<strong>_


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks so much for reviewing! You guys are great. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy**

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><p>"Glad you agreed to meet me here," Damon went around the table to pull out her chair. After endless begging and pleading he was finally lucky enough to get her to agree to meet him for lunch at the Grill. Damon didn't know what he was going to say but he knew he wasn't opposed to more begging and pleading if that's what it took for her to give him a second chance.<p>

"Didn't seem like I had a choice," She replied coldly, her were arms crossed and her body language told him she wasn't interested in anything he had to say.

"Aren't you going to order anything to eat?" Clearly he didn't where to proceed, no amount of advice from Stefan could prepare him for this moment. He was a lawyer, trained in the art of negotiation, he defended and reasoned with people for a living, but somehow he was unable to make a case for himself. Then again when Elena was that angry, she intimidated him more than any judge or jury ever had.

"I don't have much of an appetite." She continued to give him the cold shoulder, answering his questions with short quick responses, not bothering to elaborate and clearly avoiding any actual conversation.

He couldn't believe how much she had changed since the last time he saw her. Three weeks ago he couldn't even tell she was pregnant, but looking at her now it was very obvious. She was even more beautiful, if that was at all possible. Her skin was flawless, hair more lustrous than he remembered before, and she had that beautiful glow that's associated with being pregnant.

"Did you have something to say to me?" Elena was growing unnerved by his endless staring; her plan was to spend as little time speaking to Damon as possible. She was opening a business in a few months and she had more than enough work to tend to.

"Look I know you probably want nothing to do with me after the way I disappeared –"

Elena rolled her eyes. "I don't," completely cutting him off before he could even finish his statement.

"And you have every right to be upset with me." Damon added searching his brain for the right words. "But I'm here now, and I need a second chance at this."

"You think it's that easy, huh?" Elena glared at him in disbelief. "You think you can just walk in and out as much as it pleases you."

"I'm not going anywhere, ever. I've had time to really think this through and I've never been so sure of anything in my life" Damon promised.

"I can't trust you Damon; that's really all it comes down to. You do understand why I can't risk that right?" She gave him a pleading look, begging him to understand where she was coming from. To understand that it was nothing personal, she was only making decisions that would benefit her child in the long run.

"Let me prove it to you," he demanded with fierce determination. "Move in with me." Damon briefly ran the idea by Stefan gaining him a look of uncertainty and endless questions that he wasn't sure he had the answers to, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He wanted to prove to her that he could be responsible and reliable, and the best way to get her to notice this is if they lived under the same roof.

Elena gave him a look of pure disbelief. "Move in with you?" He couldn't possibly be serious. "You mean in your bachelor pad?"

"We can buy a house." He provided, eying her diligently.

"Even if I wanted to, I can't afford to purchase a house this instant; I'm in the middle of opening a business."

"Then I'll purchase it alone." Damon would do whatever it took to get her to move in with him. It was about time he started officially making Mystic Falls his home anyway, as much as he hated to admit it after officially cutting all ties with Katherine, there was nothing left for him in New York. Everyone he cared about was in Mystic Falls, his mother, his brother, his job, and now Elena and his unborn child. He loved New York, but settling down in Mystic Falls would be best.

"What makes you think this is a good idea?" Elena asked. She was uncomfortable with the very thought of moving in with Damon, they were practically strangers. As far as she was concerned the only thing they had in common was the baby she was carrying in her womb. "We hardly know each other."

"All the more reason to do it." Damon wasn't about to let her wiggle her way out of this one. At this point nothing else was more important to him than getting her to agree to these knew living arrangements. "Don't you think as the parents of this little guy, we owe him to get to know each other?"

Elena hated to admit it, but he had a point. How would they go about parenting this child if they hardly knew each other, it would be nearly impossible. They already got off to a bad start and she didn't want her son coming into the world to a dysfunctional family, where his mom and dad hated each other's guts.

"I need some time to think this over." Elena reluctantly replied. Until that moment it hadn't even register in her mind that she unconsciously decided to give him a second chance. She couldn't believe she let him get to her again, the only reason she agreed to have lunch with him was to make him aware of the fact that she wanted nothing else to do with him, instead they were making plans to buy a house and move in together.

"Take all the time you need."

* * *

><p>It was four weeks later and Bonnie and Caroline unloaded the remaining boxes from Elena's car. After days of contemplating and consulting with her best friends Elena finally gave in and agreed to the new living arrangements. Damon spent all of his free time looking at houses in the mean time. He was excited to show her the marvelous two story house, adorned with beautiful lanterns, a grand entrance, and a yard big enough to get lost in. Just as he predicted she immediately fell in love with it and thought it was the perfect size for the three of them.<p>

"Oh my goodness, this place is huge." Caroline commented, looking around in complete astonishment.

"Seriously Lena, you'll never have to see Damon in here." Bonnie joked, elbowing her friend playfully.

"I think that would defeat the purpose of this whole living arrangement."

Elena began with the tour of the house, starting from the grand foyer, showing them the rooms on the first floor, the pool and beautiful garden outback adorned with gorgeous white daffodils and bright yellow lilies. The flowers gave the place and serene and inviting aura, and Elena knew instantly it would be one of her favorite places in the entire house.

The three ladies made their way back into the house, where Elena couldn't hold in her excitement about the beautiful kitchen that came fully equipped with all new state of the art appliances. Caroline and Bonnie could never really understand their friend's excitement over something as mundane as a kitchen, but none the less they both squealed right along with her, basking in the joy and excitement of her new home.

"You must be Elena." A dark haired woman announced, startling all three girls from their loud antics. The woman was much older than they were, at least in her early fifties. One look into her ocean blue eyes and Elena had no doubt who she was.

"I'm Anetta Salvatore, Damon's mother." The older woman reached out her hand, and Elena shook it gently.

"So nice to meet you Mrs. Salvatore," Bonnie and Caroline replied in unison before informing Elena that they'd get back to unpacking some of her stuff.

Mrs. Salvatore eyed Elena carefully, paying special attention to her very round belly. When her son told her that he was having a child, she was sure her meeting with the child's mother was long overdue.

"Elena, Damon's told me so much about you," The older woman stated, finally breaking the awkward silence that hung heavy in the room. "He said you were into culinary arts." The woman continued, moving away from the door way and settling down on one of the kitchen stools.

"Yeah I'm actually opening a restaurant in a few months." Elena didn't know why she was suddenly so nervous, or why she felt like she had to impress the woman. It's the same feeling she got before meeting Matt's parent's for the first time, except this time Damon wasn't exactly her fiancé or even her boyfriend for that matter.

"That's really impressive," Anetta replied, still trying to assess the young woman before her. Her son usually didn't have the best taste in women, so she had grown accustomed to the gold-digging, opportunistic types that Damon often brought home. Usually she could make out their intentions within a second of being alone with them, but to her surprise none of the usual red flags went off in her head since meeting the young brunette.

"Thank you Mam." Elena replied politely.

"Call me Anetta. We're all going to be family here soon, so there's no need to be formal." She gave Elena a genuine smile.

"Right, Anetta." Elena corrected, trying out the name on her tongue.

"So, how far along are you?"

Elena replied "A little over five months."

"Damon is so excited about this baby. It's all he ever talks about." Anetta searched Elena face at the mention of her son. Damon informed her about their less than ideal situation but after briefly meeting the young brunette, she couldn't help but think about what kind of positive influence Elena has had on his life. She could tell instantly that Elena was nothing like the likes of Katherine, who trampled all over her baby's heart and left him shattered in a million little pieces.

"We both are."

Anetta took hold of both of Elena's hands, squeezing them gently. "You two are gonna make such wonderful parents. I can already tell."

Elena couldn't help but blush at the woman's compliment. "Thanks."

"Just be careful with him." Anetta warned. "I know it's hard to believe, but he's very fragile."

Elena looked at the woman with a puzzled expression, clearly not sure who she was referring to.

"Damon, he's more fragile than he looks."

Elena let out a nervous laugh. "Damon and I aren't together," she clarified. "You know that, don't you?"

"Of course," the woman replied half amused. "I mean you're only living together and having a child."

Elena wasn't exactly sure what Anetta was implying, or if she was in fact implying anything at all. She was thankful when Damon walked into the kitchen wearing his signature smirk, because she didn't know if she liked where the conversation seemed to be headed.

"What are you two doing in here? I've been looking all over for you, mom." Damon announced, taking notice of Elena and his mom hand in hand.

"I was just meeting Elena, if I hadn't taken matters into my own hands, I'd probably never know who she was." The older woman retorted, slapping her son playfully on the arm.

"I'm just concerned about you getting lost in here." The smart comment earned the eldest Salvatore another playful slap by his mother.

"I might be getting old, but I'm not senile. Now come, show me the rest of this house."

"Yes Mam." Damon replied, kissing his mothers forehead affectionately. They walked arm in arm as Damon went over to the next room to show his mother living area.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long before Elena began to regret moving in with Damon. Between their constant bickering and all the unresolved sexual tension, she was slowly losing her mind. He had mastered the art of pissing her off while simultaneously turning her on, and she was almost sure that she'd end up in a mental institution somewhere. Most of the time, she didn't know whether to slap him or drag him upstairs to her room and have her way with him. Her desire for him was slowly becoming overwhelming, she often found herself unable to concentrate on anything else, and having to watch him parade around the house shirtless didn't exactly help with her dilemma. Whenever her mind began to recall where that dark trail of hair underneath is navel led to, Elena would mentally chastise herself for thinking such inappropriate thoughts.<p>

Being pregnant was definitely throwing her hormones off balance, and the sexual frustration was become more and more unbearable the more she tried to deny it. Right along with the obvious changes in her figure, came the increasing sensual urges that managed to intensify as time went on. Her whole body felt like it was on fire and every erogenous part became overly sensitive to the slightest contact.

Like she always did when those cravings threatened to get the best of her, Elena turned her attentions to the cravings that she could satisfy. At that particular moment that happened to be the crunchy pickles that sat on the kitchen counter.

Elena bit into the sour pickle, realizing that it wasn't as satisfying as she had hoped. It was missing something; something sweet and chocolaty. She searched her pantry for her favorite chocolate hazel nut spread only to discover that Damon placed it on the very top shelf in the cabinets. _That inconsiderate ass._ She thought to herself. She climbed onto the granite counter tops and just as she was about to reach the chocolate treat, she felt him tug gently at her leg from behind.

"Just what the hell are you doing, Elena?" He stared in disbelief at the way she knelt on the kitchen counter in an effort to reach to top shelves of the cabinet.

"I'm getting something to eat." _Here we go, _she thought to herself, _and the bickering continues._

"Yeah it looks more like an accident waiting to happen." He retorted. "Now get down from there."

"I can handle myself, but thanks for the concern." Elena rolled her eyes, ignored his demands still reaching for the delicious jar of chocolate.

"You have two options. You can either get down right now, or I'll be forced to remove you." He threatened.

"You wouldn't." Elena glared at him through squinted eyes.

"Try me." Damon dared, giving her a look that proved just how serious he was.

Elena let out a loud huff of defeat. "Fine. You get it." There was still plenty she didn't know about Damon, but she knew enough to realize that he meant business whenever he gave her that eye-bulging look.

"Thank you." He smiled smugly at her annoyance.

Elena struggled to position herself in a way to ease herself off the counter, but it was proving to be a lot more difficult than she thought as her stomach just kept getting in the way. She couldn't even remember how she managed to climb it in the first place, yet it seemed impossible to get down.

Damon stood there eying her amusingly as she spent several moments trying to dismount the counter that she so easily mounted. "You could just ask for my help," he stated, clearly enjoying the sight of her struggling.

"No thanks, I think I'll just stay up here," she replied stubbornly, not trusting him for a second. Nothing was ever straight forward with Damon. He always had some trick up his sleeve always deliberately putting them in the most compromising positions.

"Don't be ridiculous, let me help you down." Damon was suddenly centimeters away from her holding his arms out inviting her to hold onto him. "Just wrap yourself around me."

Elena hesitated for a moment, but realizing that it was actually her only option she gave in and snaked her arm around his neck. The feeling of his naked torso pressed against the soft curves of her body sent a jolt of electricity right through her core that she was certain he also felt. Her nipples ached at the friction that his chest provided against the thin material of her shirt. Once her body was wrapped securely around him, Damon pulled her off the counter but instead of placing her on the ground like he promised, he reached his arm around her to hold her bridal style.

"Damon, put me down!" Elena demanded. She was growing annoyed with his constant teasing, because it was likely to result in her taking yet another cold shower that day. She was fighting the urge to run her hand along the lines of his well defined muscles, and the thought alone did nothing to silence those intense sensual desires that threatened to expose her. It was like dangling a piece of moist chocolate cake in front of a hungry child.

"But you haven't thanked me yet." He smiled, loving the way she squirmed in his arms. Damon honestly had never been so turned on in his life. Elena, in all her pregnant glory did things to his body that he couldn't explain if he tried. Seeing the evidence of his growing child inside her was a powerful aphrodisiac for him. He could sense that she was just as wound up as he was and he'd be more than willing to help her unwind if only she'd let him.

"Damon, don't be an asshole, put me down." She demanded once more. His grip on her only tightened as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Say the magic words and I'll set you free, love."

The warm feeling of his breath on her ear somehow managed to spread across her entire body until it settled at her wet core. Her lust for him threatened to blur her vision, and she knew she had to tell him what he wanted to hear before she could be tempted to beg him to take her right there on the kitchen counter.

"Thank you." She finally stated, feeling the instant loss of contact as he finally placed her firmly on the ground.

"I'd stay off that counter if I were you, I won't be so easy on you next time." Damon gave her a suggestive grin before walking away and leaving her clearly hot and bothered in the kitchen.

* * *

><p>The next day Elena decided to host a dinner party in an effort to get to know more about Damon and his family. Even though she long decided that he was an insufferable, <em>hot, and physically flawless, <em>asshole, _who did things to her body and soul that she'd yet to find explanations for,_ she had a genuine interest in his family life. After all she was sure they'd play a pretty big role in her son's life, so it made sense for her to get to know more about them. She invited his mother, his brother Stefan, along with Bonnie and Caroline for support. Jeremy didn't take the news of her situation as well as she hoped, and opted out of attending the dinner. It hurt her that the only blood relative she had left, her own brother, would decide to turn his back on her when she needed him most. Caroline tried to explained that he was just having a difficult time and he'd come around eventually, but none the less Elena still couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment.

The majority of the day was spent preparing her popular and appetizing mushroom soup, a delicious hearty steak dinner with a side of her creamiest mashed potatoes and asparagus and she even managed baked a mouthwatering apple pie for desert. With Damon's constant begging her to taste anything she threw in a pan, it nearly took her twice the usual amount of time to get dinner ready and by the time her guest started arriving Elena was barely dressed.

"Who knew you were such a housewife." Damon commented, admiring on her ability to cook an amazing meal, and transform their dining room from ordinary to elegant in a matter of hours.

"I'm not your housewife Damon, the sooner you understand that the better." She instinctively reached out to finish the buttons on his shirt, and straightened his tie. "Did you get the wine like I asked?"

"Yes, dear."

Elena rolled her eyes at him, but she was too anxious about the outcome of her party to engage in another bickering match with him. Having worked diligently to make sure everything was perfect, inquiring about everyone's food allergies and music preferences, she just wanted to make sure than they all enjoyed a relaxing evening with good food and company.

"And Damon I know this might be nearly impossible for you, but please refrain from being a complete dick tonight," Elena requested, her voice laced with sarcasm.

"For you love, I'll try." His arm encircled her waist and he pulled her flush against him, smiling on the inside as the gentle curve of her belly pressed against his abdomen. "You look beautiful."

She wore a bright red silk gown that hugged her curves in all the right places. Her lustrous gold curls fell loosely on her shoulders. Wearing minimum make up, her look was natural but all the more stunning.

Sensing the shift in his tone from annoyingly flirty to something a little more serious, she whispered a quiet "thank you" before breaking eye contact and easing herself out of his grasp.

By seven o'clock all of her guest had arrived, everyone sat in the living room enjoying the music and engaging in some polite conversation.

"Someone needs to go pry that bottle of wine away from her." Caroline whispered in her ear. Elena glanced across the living room to see Bonnie indulging in yet another glass of red wine and giggling uncontrollably at whatever conversation that was taking place; she wasn't surprised to see Stefan sitting right beside her. She shook her head slightly as she called Bonnie over to help her set the table.

"What are you doing? He's going to think you have a drinking problem." Elena whispered.

"I can't help it." Bonnie replied hopelessly. "I mean look at him, he's just so perfect. Bonnie glanced dreamingly in Stefan's direction. "And besides I'm not even drunk."

"Not yet, but one more sip and I'm going to have to carry you upstairs." Elena warned. They finished setting the table and Elena called out for her guest to be seated. Damon deliberately sat right next to her, asking Bonnie to trade seats with him. Caroline and Tyler were across from them and Stefan and Anetta Salvatore both sat at the ends of the large wooden table.

Damon wasn't one to mingle in people's love lives, least of all his brothers, but he was utterly mystified at how completely oblivious Stefan was when it came to women. At times it was hard to believe that they were even related. He watched for an hour as Bonnie giggled like a school girl at every corny joke his brother made and nearly drink herself into a stupor out of sheer nervousness, but good ol Stefan hardly noticed.

"Stef, before we eat can I talk to you for a sec?" Damon asked, earning a threatening look from Elena, who probably suspected he'd do something to ruin her perfect evening.

They walked out to the foyer where he was sure they wouldn't be heard.

"What are you dumb, blind, deaf?" Damon asked in a loud whisper. He could slap off the immediate dumb expression that appeared on his brother's face after his statement.

"What do you mean?" Stefan asked.

"Can't you see she has a thing for you?" Damon asked in disbelief.

"Who? Elena? I mean she's gorgeous and all, but I still don't think it'd be appropri-"

Damon couldn't resist it; he reached around and gave Stefan's head a light smack before he could finish his statement. "No not Elena idiot, Bonnie!"

He watched as realization settled in his brother's face. "You think she likes me?" Stefan asked in confusion. "What would make you think that?"

"Gee, I don't know. It might have something to do with the fact that she's the only one who cares to laugh at everything that comes out of your mouth." Damon replied sarcastically. "Goodness how are we even related?"

"I wonder the same thing every day. " Stefan replied.

"So what should I do? Should I sit next to her?" Stefan was never good at approaching woman, most of the time he didn't have to, they usually came to him. However those women usually never held his interest. Whenever he genuinely liked a girl he was always afraid to make the first move. Despite what his brother thought, he had noticed Bonnie plenty, especially at work. She was one of the few women at the firm who didn't throw herself at him or any guy for that matter and he respected her for that. Not to mention she was very easy on the eyes; beautiful tanned skin, long brown hair and a pair of brown eyes to match. Oh, he's noticed Bonnie, but he was unaware of the fact that she noticed him back.

"No dummy. You wait until after dinner and then and you pull her aside and ask her out for drinks or something casual. You don't bring attention to the situation, at least not yet." Damon advised.

Stefan still looked puzzled, and Damon shook his head vigorously.

"Do I need to tell you what to say too?" Damon asked in disbelief.

"A few pointers wouldn't hurt." Stefan admitted.

"Hey Bonnie, I was wondering if you were free Saturday night. I thought maybe we could get a few drinks and hang out." Damon demonstrated, giving his little brother a look of pure incredulity.

He watched as Stefan soaked in the information, and repeated the words under his breath.

"Okay I got it." The youngest Salvatore replied.

"Where did I go wrong?" Damon mumbled, shaking his head slightly.

The brothers made their way back to the dinner table, where everyone sat patiently waiting for them to be seated. Damon tried to ignore the death glares Elena sent in his direction, giving her a smug smile for her efforts. That smile cost him however; he had to bite the insides of his mouth to keep from yelling when she reached underneath the table and pinched him really hard. He was sure she had drawn blood. Elena returned him a smile of her own, before asking if Mrs. Salvatore could proceed with the prayer.

Elena was genuinely pleased with the outcome of her dinner party. She got a lot of praise for her efforts as everyone seemed to enjoy the food, the music, and the overall atmosphere was pleasant.

Anetta told stories about Damon and Stefan as children, trying to prepare her for what to expect when it came to raising boys. She still couldn't stop smiling at the story of how Damon was potty trained. Damon just sat there with a mortified expression as his mother forced him to relive some of the most humiliating details of his childhood.

"Looks like it's time for dessert." Elena got up from her seat recruiting Bonnie's help in serving the guest.

Before the girls made it to the oven, Elena heard the door bell ring and she went to see who it was. She hoped Jeremy changed his mind and decided to join them after all. _Better late than never,_ Elena thought.

She wasn't quite prepared for the face that stood behind the door. She knew the face; she'd never forget the face of the woman who instantly crushed any hope that her child could ever have a loving father.

"Well isn't this cozy." Katherine stated giving her a look of amusement, as Elena stood there almost speechless. "I'm here to see Damon, aren't you going to invite me in?" Before any actual invitation was offered Katherine pushed her way past Elena making her way into the grand foyer.

"Fancy." She observed, taking notice of the beautifully furnished home. She walked around like she owned the place, completely disregarding Elena as if she didn't even exist.

Katherine followed the sound of chatter into the dining room, where she stood in the doorway, as three pair of eyes watched her in disbelief. She could hear Anetta Salvatore gasp instantly, and she watched as Stefan immediately began choking on a piece of apple pie. No one else knew who she was, but Damon, the person she desired to get the most reaction from didn't even look twice after noticing her the first time. "I guess I made it just in time for desert." She grinned mischievously. With that, she took Elena's seat, placing herself right beside Damon.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave a review! <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the reviews guys. I love reading your feedback so keep it coming! Sorry it took so long for me to update. I had final exams and I had to get those out of the way first. But now that finals are over I have nothing but free times so expect more frequent updates! Enjoy!

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><p>Damon felt the hot blood rushing through his veins as the anger began to seep in. He was sure it was made perfectly clear to Katherine, that her presence in his life was no longer desired. Yet there she was sitting beside him, uninvited and ruining an otherwise peaceful evening. A still silence occupied the dining room and Damon could see everyone watching him out of the corner of their eyes. They expected him to do something; Katherine was his problem after all. Instinctively his eyes searched the room for the mother of his child, but she was nowhere in sight. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to be around in the same room as the likes of Katherine.<p>

"Katherine may I have a word with you?" Damon asked, barely masking the fury in his voice. He watched as a sly smile crept onto her face.

"Sure Damon." She replied with enthusiasm.

Damon decided that outside would be far more appropriate for the amount of yelling he planned to do. So he lead the way into the front yard where he was sure no one would hear them. Once they arrived Damon could barely hold in his rage.

"What the hell are you doing here? Do you think this is funny?" He snapped running a hand frustratingly through his hair.

"I came to see you, I didn't like the way we left things a while ago." She stalked towards him seductively, running her hands down his firm arms. "But I see you've decided to play house with that hippo of a woman." She calmly replied referring to Elena's weight. Katherine was clearly completely unfazed by his rage.

"There is no we!" Damon shouted exasperatingly. "We were over a long time ago, and any chance of us being remotely civil was blown into smithereens when you decided to keep the knowledge of my child away from me!"

"So that's it, some random woman comes into your life with a stupid baby, and you throw away everything we have?" Katherine asked attempting to conjure up as many fake tears as she could. "You buy her a house and treat her like she's the fucking Queen of England, and I'm supposed to be okay with that?"

Damon couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had run out of ways to tell her that this had nothing to do with her; he didn't need her okay or her approval when dealing with matters in his life.

"Katherine just go." Damon relented. He had only been outside with her a few moments and the exhaustion was already setting in.

Katherine let out humorless laugh. "Go huh? After loving me for years, you just want me to go?" Her cackling became more and more obnoxious to the point where Damon had to remind himself that she was still indeed a woman, and not some wild undiscovered animal.

"Yes, go, if you ever cared for me at all, you'd do me this small favor."

"What has she done to you?" Katherine questioned with serious curiosity. "She's ruined you, undid all of my hard work." Katherine commented more to herself than him.

Damon rolled his eyes, his patience wearing incredibly thin. He was moments away from picking her up and tossing her right outside the gate.

"Well I'll be on my way, don't want to stay where I'm clearly not wanted, you tell Elena I'll be seeing her around." Katherine commented, loving the confusion etched across his flawless face.

Damon felt his heart drop at her comment. "What do you mean seeing her around? Aren't you going back to New York?"

"No actually I've taken a liking to Mystic Falls; it's not such a terrible place after all. I made some new friends, oh and I moved into your old apartment." She announced, loving the way his face contorted in discomfort

"Beautiful place, and so many amazing memories of us in there." She recalled in a seductive whisper.

Damon knew she was lying, Katherine hated Mystic Falls. There weren't enough luxurious shops, or five star restaurants there to sustain her expensive habits. If she was staying in Mystic Falls, he knew she had other intentions, and if he knew anything about Katherine, he knew those intentions were ill.

"What are you up to Katherine?"

"What makes you think I'm up to something, can't a girl enjoy a change of scenery? Oh I'm sorry I guess that's only okay for you and _Elena_," emphasizing her displeasure at the mention of Elena's name.

Before Damon could get out another word, he was staring at her back as she began walking away. "See you around Damon."

* * *

><p>Damon returned only to discover everyone had gathered their belongings and were heading out. <em>Great.<em> He imagined Elena was infuriated by the turn of events, he hadn't seen her since Katherine barged her way into their home, now that her perfect dinner was ruined thanks to Katherine, he knew he'd better start apologizing and pray she'd let him live it down eventually.

Katherine's words kept echoing in his head, and soon he found himself angry all over again. Something kept nagging him in the back of his mind that she was up to something, and it infuriated him that he couldn't figure it out. It seemed no matter how much he tried to take responsibility and do right by Elena and his child, his past kept sneaking up on him, making it damn near impossible.

He figured he'd put off dealing with Elena till morning, and reached for a glass of his best bourbon instead. He needed something to dull those raging emotions or he'd be tempted to beak something, and that certainly wouldn't win him any points. It wasn't long before he'd downed three glasses of the strong liquid, yet it did nothing to calm his inner turmoil.

"Damon?"

Damon silently cursed himself at the gentle sound of her voice. He was sure she had gone to sleep and now not only would he have to explain the whole Katherine debacle, he'd have to come up with an explanation as to why he was sitting in their living room almost drunk. He knew he didn't have any of the answers she wanted; he had enough arguing for one night.

"Not now Elena."

His emotional turmoil hadn't gone unnoticed by her. She may not have lived with him very long, but she already knew that long drinks near the fire place meant Damon was _pissed_. After changing out of her evening gown, she came down stairs with every intention of giving him a piece of her mind, but seeing his current state she knew she had to try another approach. "Damon, what's the matter?"

There was no response; the closer she got to him, the more distance he put between them, moving from his spot on the couch to the fireplace all the way across the room. He stood there rubbing his temples in frustration as she continued to move slowly toward him. "Elena, just go back to bed, I'm not in the mood," he warned turning away from her to face the bright orange flames of the fireplace.

His words did nothing to sway her, and it wasn't long before he could practically feel the heat radiating from her body as she stood only centimeters behind him.

Her hand instinctively reached out and rested on the tense muscles of his bicep, almost instantly she felt the tension begin evaporate from his strained body. Relieved that she managed to somewhat calm him; she slowly eased herself in between his hard body and the warm fireplace, her round belly gently grazing the thin fabric of his shirt. Standing on her tippy toes, she held on to his strong arms for support, in an effort to force his gaze upon her. "Damon…Damon look at me." When he didn't budge, she gently stroked his arm to cajole his attention. "What is it? What did she say to you?"

He felt shiver run through him, at the sensation she was unintentionally creating within him. It was hard to hold on to his anger, when she stood there all doe eyed, and practically caressing him. Despite his best effort he was unable to avoid her gaze much longer, as her delicate fingers traveled from his shoulders, to his neck all the way up to the contours of his face. She slowly brought his face down to hers, her chocolate orbs full of genuine concern, as the soft pads of her thumbs brushed delicate strokes against his cheeks. In that instant, he felt the faintest flutter against him, where the curve of her belly was pressed against his abdomen. "See…. He knows you're angry." Her voice was a low whisper as if not to disturb the child. Damon let out a low huff, before calmly sliding his hand between their bodies, rubbing soft circles against her protruding stomach in an effort to sooth his distressed child.

Elena couldn't help but the inappropriate feelings that the innocent gesture evoked from her. The feeling of his firm hand rubbing against her swollen abdomen, just below her navel sent waves of electricity coursing through her entire body. Her breath hitched, as she tried to concentrate on his emotional needs, rather than her own sensual ones. It was the many downfalls of practicing _self control _in her condition; every innocent gesture had the power to send her spiraling out of control with lust. Nothing could have prepared her for the overwhelming need to touch him and be touched by Damon in return. Those urges had begun to keep her up at night, making her wish she was nestled beside him, instead of alone in her own bed.

Elena felt his forehead connect with hers as his ice blue orbs met with her chocolate ones. "I'm sorry." The feeling of his warm whiskey laced breath against her face sent a familiar tingle all throughout her body. "It's okay," She assured him, her face now resting between the crook of his neck, inhaling his intoxicating scent. "Damon, tell me what's wrong." Her lips brushed against the outer shell of his ear; as she brought her arms down to encircle his waist. For some reason she hated seeing him so upset, and at that moment she would have done anything to make it all better.

"I don't want to worry you with this." His voice was low and controlled; as if he were desperately holding back the emotions. "At least tell me what I can do to make you feel better." She was leaning into him now, her whole body pressed flushed against his, her hands finding their way back to his face, cupping it securely between her palms. The look he gives her literally sends chills down her spine, his hands moved from her stomach to stroke the small of her back, holding her firmly and possessively against him.

"You're not mad at me?" he asked in a gentle whisper. Elena made it clear that if he did anything to ruin her evening he'd have hell to pay. If her definition of hell involved her draped all over him in their living room, he had to admit he didn't mind it at all.

"I was, but then I saw you standing here looking all pitiful and I felt sorry for you." She let out a small giggle that seemed contagious as he found himself laughing right along with her.

"Damon Salvatore is anything but pitiful," he grinned running one of his hands gently through her silky brown hair. The smell of her sweet vanilla shampoo immediately invaded his nose, and he felt her body stiffen at the contact.

Elena couldn't believe she let things get so far, there she was standing in the most intimate embrace with Damon. She didn't know what had gotten into her, what would make her think that kind of intimacy was okay. She tried to gently ease herself away from him, just as she had eased in, but he was having none of it, pulling her closer to him and wearing his signature smirk.

"Well I'm glad to see your feeling better," she observed rolling her eyes at his antics. He was obviously out of his funk and back to being the cocky ass she'd come to know yet _secretly adored._

"Why do you do this to yourself?" He asked, looking at her amusingly, his hand traveling from her soft hair to the nape of her neck. He heard her breath hitch and he smirked at her reaction.

"And… what would that be?" Elena asked in a breathy whisper.

"Torture yourself by denying your body what it really wants." Damon was tired of playing nice, they both knew what they wanted and while he was willing to acknowledge it, Elena somehow managed to hold on to her denial despite it being clearly obvious that she wanted the same. His lips were now centimeters away from hers, his eyes threatening to see right through her.

"It's called self control, Damon. I wouldn't… expect you…to know anything about that." She replied between labored breathes. Elena felt what was left of her control slipping away as his lips found the sweet spot right below her jaw. She let out a soft moan and he took it as permission to continue, smiling against the delicate flesh of her neck.

"I say it's overrated." He mumbled against her throat, his hand finding its way underneath her top, applying gentle caresses to her stomach before finding their way up to her supple breast. His hand slid past the barrier of her bra and Elena let out a loud hiss as his fingers brushed against her very sensitive nipples. Realizing that she had lost the battle she pulled herself away from his devouring lips and captured them in hers. She could taste the bourbon on his tongue adding to the intoxicating taste of his sweet mouth.

Her hands found the buttons of his shirt and she heedlessly tore his shirt open, their mouths separated briefly as Damon pulled her own shirt above her head, only to be reunited forcefully immediately after the thin fabric was tossed on the floor beside them. His hand reached behind her to unclasp her bra letting her soft breast fall freely. His pants became incredibly tight as he took a moment to appreciate her topless form. He immediately resumed his assault on her soft lips, kissing her with fervent need.

"We should go upstairs." Elena gasped reluctantly tearing her lips away from his.

Before Damon could scoop her into his arms and carry her up and into his four poster bed, the unthinkable happened and Damon swore vehemently under his breath. Someone clearly hated him, hated him so much that they'd choose the worst moment possible to ring his doorbell. The moment he finally managed to convince Elena to give in to her urges, surely he wouldn't get a second time.

He watched as her eyes widened in shock and she recovered her discarded top and undergarment. She rushed up the stairs signaling for him to check the door.

Damon pulled the door open to find a teary eyed Caroline.

"Can I come in?" She asked her voice breaking.

"Sure. Are you okay?" Damon asked, concern filling his voice. It had only been an hour since everyone left and now for whatever reason Caroline was in tears, he had a feeling it had something to do with her boyfriend Tyler who was nowhere in sight.

"Elena's upstairs in her bedroom, you can go up there if you like." Whatever Caroline was going through he wouldn't be of much help, she needed to speak to her best friend and he had to put his selfish needs aside in order for that to happen.

Damon watched in disappointment as Caroline walked up the stairs to find her friend. He was definitely going to need a cold shower after the events of the night.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean he's in trouble?" Elena asked, pouring the sweet batter into the muffin pans. After a whole night spent crying hysterically, Elena was finally able to get the details of Caroline's dilemma. Her friend was completely incoherent the night before, but as the details of her and Tyler's situation unraveled Elena found herself gasping at the severity of it all.<p>

"He's been working for a criminal." Caroline replied, taking a deep breath. "The most treacherous criminal in Mystic Falls."

"You mean like a mob?" Elena asked

"Pretty much."

"So, who is this big bad guy anyway?" Elena inquired popping a blue berry into her mouth.

"His name is Klaus, and he's the real deal Elena. From what I hear he's ruthless." Caroline informed.

"I'm so sorry Care." Elena sympathized. "Have you tried talking to him?"

Caroline laughed humorlessly. "I tried, and Mr. Lockwood informed me that his loyalties are to Klaus first and foremost."

"He said that?" Elena questioned in pure disbelief. "There has to be more he not telling you." They all knew each other since grade school and Elena simply refused to believe that Tyler would betray Caroline like that. "Maybe this Klaus has something on him." She added.

"It doesn't matter Elena, we've been together for two years. He shouldn't be keeping secrets from me."

"How'd you find out anyway?" Elena immediately recognized the guilty expression that flashed across Caroline's face. "Care, were you snooping?" she asked in mock disappointment.

"I had no choice, we were at the gas station and he left his phone in the car, and I just knew he was keeping something from me, and it was my only chance to find out. I was thinking along the lines of another woman, but I think this is much worst."

"So how'd you get back here?" Elena asked.

"After our shouting match in the middle of the road, I took a cab here." The blond answered. "Sorry for showing up all unannounced, I hope I wasn't an inconvenience."

"No not at all." Elena lied. "Besides I can use your help this morning. Speaking of Lockwoods, I'm catering Mayor Lockwood's brunch and I need help baking these muffins." She hadn't even had enough time to process what almost happened between her and Damon the night before if Caroline hadn't shown up.

"What am I going to do Elena?" Her friend asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I'm afraid there's not much you can do Care." Elena sadly informed her.

"I know. I just don't want him to get hurt." Caroline expressed. "I don't want anyone to get hurt."

In all her years of knowing Caroline Elena had never seen her friend so down about anything before. It hurt her to watch Caroline hurting so much. "I know this is hard Care, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep your mind off of it. I'm baking a special batch of blueberry muffins just for you." She gave her friend a small smile. "I know they're your favorite."

Caroline smiled appreciatively at Elena's efforts to cheer her up. Food usually did the trick whenever something got her down, but she didn't know how effective Elena's gourmet muffins would be this time around. This was practically a matter of life and death, and she knew Tyler's life could possibly be hanging in the balance.

"What's all this?" Damon asked, looking at the several dozen assorted muffins that seemed to take over his kitchen. His mouth watered as the smell of fresh blueberry muffins filled the room

"Elena's catering Mrs. Lockwood's brunch." Caroline informed him.

Elena was so engrossed in her baking that she didn't even realize when he walked into the kitchen. She couldn't decide exactly where they stood after what happened between them before Caroline arrived. It's not like they could go back to the way things were before, she couldn't go back to pretending to want nothing to do with him. The cat was out of the bag; Damon knew that she wanted him as much if not more than he wanted her.

Damon reached for a banana muffin and Elena smacked his hand away with her wooden spatula.

In true Damon fashion he just had to utter something inappropriate in her ear. "Forgot you were so kinky, I'll keep that in mind."

She rolled her eyes at his crudeness. "Your breakfast is on the table, these are off limits." She signaled at the several boxes of muffins sitting on the kitchen counter.

"You're supposed to be taking it easy." Damon advised. "Standing on your feet for hours baking a thousand cupcakes is not my idea of taking it easy."

"I'm fine, and besides it's only three hundred _muffins_." Elena corrected him. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" He asked in amusement. "But if you must know, I'm working from home today."

Elena took a deep breath, she thought after the way they went at each other the previous night something would've change. Maybe things would be awkward and they'd have a hard time looking each other in the eye but nope, nothing. Damon was still just as cocky as ever and they bickered just the same.

"Well so am I." She declared. "You just make sure you stay out of my way, I need to be done by noon." She gave him a challenging look.

"Are you threatening me Gilbert?" Damon felt a smile creeping up the corners of his lips. He loved how feisty she got whenever he provoked her, and boy did he love to provoke her. "Don't you have a doctor's appointment today?"

"That's at two o'clock; I should be done by then."

"You're doing too much, Elena." Damon warned. "You need to slow down." The last thing he wanted was for her to end up hospital again because she was over exerting herself. The fear and anxiety he felt during those few hours she had been hospitalized was crippling, and that was before he even knew a thing about her. He didn't know what he'd do if he ever had to go through that again.

"Coming from the man who was ready to throw me in his bed last night," Elena whispered, making sure Caroline couldn't make out their conversation.

"That's different; I hear sex is actually good for pregnant women." Damon replied, standing directly behind her. "I only have your best interest at heart, love."

"Sure you do." Elena commented with sarcasm. "Eat your breakfast before it gets cold." She ordered, no longer whispering.

Damon ran a hand through her long brown locks, letting his fingers linger at the nape of her neck, touching her ever so gently. He watched in amusement as she tried to remain unaffected by his touch, when his hand slid just below the collar of her blouse, her immediate intake of breath left a satisfying smirk on his lips. "Thanks for breakfast," he replied before walking away. Elena could barely recall what she was doing in the kitchen to begin with, it was just like Damon to tease her and leave her completely unfocused and turned on.

"What the hell was that?" Caroline exclaimed forgetting her troubles for brief moment. It may have been impossible to hear all of their whispering, but she had a good eye for reading people and nothing could convince her that she didn't just see _something_ between Elena and Damon.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, "Elena deflected, but her crimson cheeks told another story.

"Lena, you're sleeping with him aren't you?" Caroline accused eying her friend suspiciously. "I mean I totally get it if you are, he's gorgeous and you two probably spend a lot of time around each other and—"

"I'm not sleeping with him," Elena interrupted. "We just try to be civil," she added, hoping Caroline wouldn't press on any further.

"Is that what they're calling it nowadays? Well if that's civil, I'd like to see what intimate looks like," the blond laughed. "Seriously Lena, you're cooking his meals, you expect me to believe that?"

Elena shook her head in amazement; her friends really did know her better than anyone else. "Okay, maybe we're not a little more than just civil," Elena admitted reluctantly. Caroline's loud squeal was almost enough to burst her ear drums.

"So is the sex still good?" Caroline shamelessly inquired.

"We didn't sleep together, we came close but it didn't happen." Elena replied, leaving out the part about Caroline ruining the big moment. She didn't want to make her friend feel any worse than she already did.

Elena didn't see the point of being secretive about Damon now; especially since Caroline figured it out by after a few moments of interaction between the two of them.

"So is it just a physical thing or are feelings involved?"

"I don't know Care, it all just happened so fast. I don't know what to make of it." Elena could admit being with Damon wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Not only would it be ideal for the child they planned to bring into the world, but for reasons still somewhat hazy to her she actually found him kind of _amazing_. It might have something to do with the way he values family, especially his mother. He literally packed up his entire life and moved to Mystic Falls, so his mother wouldn't have to be alone after their father passed away. Elena liked that family meant so much to him, after losing nearly all of her own family members she came to value family just as much.

"For what it's worth, I definitely think he has feelings for you. He can't keep his eyes off you for a second when you two are in the same room." Caroline assured.

Elena couldn't stop the blush that crept onto her cheeks. The thought of Damon actually having real feelings for her made her feel like a little school girl who just discovered her first crush. It had actually crossed her mind a few times, but his reputation with women didn't allow her to dwell on that fantasy for too long. She figured he'd flirt with anything in a skirt anyway, so she tried not to take his advances too seriously.

"Look at you blushing, you so want him." Caroline teased. "You two already act like you're together, you might as well make it official."

"If only it were that simple." Elena sighed.

The two women were taken out of their conversation by the sound of two people shouting insults at each other. The voices sounded like men, and Elena immediately recognized Damon's voice among the shouters. She quickly washed her hands and signaled for Caroline to follow along to the source of the commotion.

* * *

><p>Damon watched intently as the man paced back and forth in front of the door. He'd never seen this man before in his life, but he could tell the man was either seriously disturbed or afraid, maybe even both. He wore a worn grey sweat shirt that that hung loosely off his shoulders. His skin was sickly pale, hair matted to his forehead, and he had a stench that made it hard for Damon to keep his breakfast down.<p>

"Where is she?" the man shouted, his eyed bulged and Damon could make out every vein on his face.

"Who are you?" Damon shouted in response, clearly confused by this stranger's anger. "And who is she?"

"I know she's in there tell her to come out and this will all be over!" The man continued to pace anxiously in front of the door.

"I have no idea who you're talking about; I think you have the wrong house." Damon informed him, attempting to close the door. He wasn't successful because the strange man threw his entire body against the door using his force to keep the door open.

"Just tell me where she is!" he continued to shout, and no matter how much Damon tried to calm him the man just grew more and more agitated.

"Look if you don't get off my property, I'm going to call the cops!" Damon shouted finally losing his patience.

Damon didn't even have time to process what happened next. The only thing he remembered was a loud bang and the excruciating feeling of hot lead piercing the muscles of his right shoulder. The impact of the bullet sent him flying nearly five feet from where he stood, his head slamming hard against the floor. His head begin to pound intensely at the impact, and only continued to intensify as the seconds went by. The stench of blood threatened to overwhelm him as the thick crimson liquid began to pool underneath him. He could vaguely make out the form of the stranger stepping over his limp body and into their home, before his eyelids gave out and his surroundings completely faded.

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><p>Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review! :)<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, I'm so sorry for no updates lately. I know I promised to update sooner, but unfortunately random computer problems cannot be predicted and unfortunately I was without mine for quite sometime these last weeks. Anyway thanks so much for reviewing my story, I appreciate each and everyone who reads & reviews. I'm happy to finally be able to update this story, so I hope you all enjoy.**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing.**

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><p>"How is he?" Stefan asked frantically taking a seat next to Elena and Caroline in the hospital waiting room.<p>

"I haven't heard anything yet." Elena wept, looking down at her blood stained clothes. She was completely covered in Damon's blood; every inch of her yellow dress was covered with the thick crimson substance. The coppery smell filled her nose, and she immediately felt nauseous for the third time since the incident.

"It's going to be okay." Stefan assured pulling her into tight hug. "Damon's strong, he'll pull through."

"You didn't see him, it was horrible." She cried, reliving the trauma in her mind. She kept seeing images of Damon lying limp, blood covering his entire body. _The blood._ There was so much of it, and it just kept oozing out of his wound no matter how much pressure she tried to apply.

"I know, I'm so sorry," Stefan apologized. He didn't even have time to process anything after receiving Elena's frantic phone call. He was in the middle of a very important meeting when his phone just wouldn't stop vibrating. There was no doubt in his mind that something was terribly wrong when he noticed eleven missed calls from Elena.

After listening to Elena frantic cries on his voicemail, fled the meeting unable to form a coherent sentence to the other meeting attendees. Stefan was usually the model driver, he'd never even received a single ticket in his entire life, but that day he nearly killed himself five times before finally making it to the hospital, running several red lights and making numerous illegal turns in the process. When he arrived the sight of Elena covered in blood caused his heart to literally leap out of his chest.

"What happened?" Stefan asked barely catching his breath.

"Damon was arguing with some strange guy at the door, and then there was a gun shot. When Elena and I ran to see, the was in the house pacing and mumbling under his breath." Caroline informed when she realized her friend was too distraught to recall the events.

"Is he in custody?"

"No, he looked like he was having a panic attack and he just ran out of the house. Then Elena and I called the police." Caroline felt the tears threatening to fall, but she blinked them back determined to put on her bravest face for her best friend who needed her to be strong.

"So you two weren't harmed?"

Elena shook her head in confirmation.

"Good… That's good." Stefan answered, pulling Elena tighter against him as her sobs grew louder.

"Maybe it was a robbery gone wrong." He speculated.

"But he didn't demand anything. Not money or jewelry." Caroline cleared up. "It's almost like once he got inside, he just changed his mind and left."

"Well that's weird, considering he went through the trouble of shooting Damon to get inside."

"I don't know, it all just so confusing." Caroline stated.

About three hours later, they were interrupted by a young blond doctor. "Are you three here for a Mr. Damon Salvatore?"

"Yes," Stefan stood abruptly. "Is he going to be alright? Can we see him?" the younger Salvatore bombarded the woman with question after question.

"He's going to be fine, he's out of surgery now and everything went smoothly." The woman reassured. "You all should be able to see him as soon as he wakes up."

"Can we please see him now," Elena pleaded desperately through choked sobs.

"I guess there's no harm in that. I just assumed you'd want to wait until he was awake." The young woman lead them to the room where Damon laid in recovery.

* * *

><p>"What did you do?" Katherine asked in a panic. She looked skeptically around the dark alley making sure no one else was in hearing distance.<p>

"It's not my fault!" Trevor yelled in response. "You told me there wouldn't be anyone else home. There were two other people in there and the guy threatened to call the cops, so I panicked." He was clearly shaken up by the day's events, sweat dripped from his face, his heart raced, as he thought of the man he left to die.

"Did you kill him?" She asked, not really sure if she was ready to hear the answer to her own question.

"I don't know. I just shot him. He was lying on the ground when I left." Trevor explained.

"God and you call yourself a professional?" She let out a desperate cry, as she continued to pace back and forth. The only thing she could think about was the possibility of Damon actually being dead, and the thought threatened to consume her with grief an emotion that was mostly foreign to her. She hate to think that she went through all that trouble to get rid of that pesky Elena, only to lose her Damon anyway.

"What about the girl?" Katherine questioned, feeling her blood boil at the mere thought of Elena still unharmed while her Damon was probably in a morgue somewhere.

"I couldn't harm her." Trevor whispered. "She's pregnant; I'm not completely heartless Katherine."

"It shouldn't matter!" She screamed fighting the urge to strangle the thin young man that stood in front of her. "I paid you to do a job, there's no room for your personal opinions!"

She should have known better than to trust him, but she was desperate. She needed Elena out of the picture and fast, and she didn't care what it cost her. Katherine was sure Damon would be at work when she instructed Trevor to get rid of Elena. She didn't specify what Trevor should do with the young brunette, but she hardly cared. To her it didn't matter as long as Elena was gone. It was a simple order and she paid him up front, and instead she learned that not only is Elena completely unscathed but Trevor might of killed the one person she was determined to protect.

"You better hope he's still alive, or I'd hate to be you." Katherine threatened. She eyed him menacingly before walking towards her car and speeding away.

Katherine needed another plan; clearly dealing with the likes of Trevor was not getting her any closer to her goal. She needed to find someone more reliable, someone who wouldn't hesitate and of the many powerful people she'd befriended since moving to Mystic Falls, she knew exactly who could help her. But first she had, to find out just how bad Trevor screwed up.

* * *

><p>Damon was starting to believe there really was bright side to every horrible ordeal. Sure he was shot by some maniac in front of his own doorstep but being pampered and looked after by the women in his life almost made it all worth it. Ever since he got back from the hospital his mother had practically moved in and Elena barely left his bed side. He was under strict orders from his doctors to limit the movement of his shoulder for the next two weeks, and Elena suggested he stayed in bed. Much to his protest, he was outnumbered as both women ganged up on him until he was left with no other option but to oblige.<p>

He heard a knock on the door, and he knew it was Elena just by the soft sound of her knocking.

"Is it time for my sponge bath yet?" Damon shot her an evocative glace that had her feeling both hot and cold simultaneously.

"In your dreams. I just came to bring your lunch." Doing her best to ignore images of her lathering him in suds with a sponge, she set the plate of food on the bed table in front of him.

"Are you gonna feed me?"

"No Damon, I'm not here to fulfill your little naughty nurse fantasies."

"But you're clearly here for something else. What do you have there?" He asked looking at the laptop she held in her other hand.

"Well, since you were house bound and obviously bored, I thought we could do some shopping for the baby."

"Only if you promise to get in bed with me," Damon bargained. If he was going to be subjected to hours of online shopping with Elena, the most indecisive person he'd ever met, he knew he'd better be getting something out of it. At that moment he couldn't think of anything he wanted more than to have her lying right beside him.

"You're so lucky Caroline and Bonnie are busy, and I'm obviously desperate." Elena explained, she pulled back the covers and climbed in. She settled herself beside him careful to leave more than enough space between them.

It wasn't long before the gap between them disappeared and her head rested comfortably against his chest, while she absentmindedly stroked his arm. It always happened with them, no matter how much space they tried to but between them, they always ended up invading each other's personal space.

"Would you stop doing that?" Damon was growing distracted by her endless touching. Fact of the matter is, as much as he tried to ignore it, he couldn't focus on anything when her hands continued to caress his arm.

"What?"

"You can't manage to keep your hands off me, yet I'm hardly ever allowed to touch you."

"That's because you're inappropriate." She answered, her hand still caressing his bicep.

"And you're not?" He stared at her disbelievingly.

"No. This is just comforting." She stated matter of factly.

"Oh yeah? For who?" He let out a soft chuckle at the torturous way her delicate fingers constantly tickled the muscles of his bicep. It was anything but comforting; tormenting was a more accurate word to describe what her touch did to him.

"For me," She admitted. "Ever since the other day, I have to keep reminding myself that you're here and you're okay."

"Well it turns me on, so stop it before you end up in my bed for an entire different reason, and I can't promise I'll behave this time." He warned in a low whisper, the warmth of his breath immediately serving to ignite that familiar warm feeling in her lower stomach.

She looked at him in a mixture of disbelief and complete arousal. "Only you would turn such an innocent gesture into something sexual."

"Sweetheart, there is nothing innocent about the way you continuously fondle me." He informed, brushing a silky strand away from her eyes.

"I do not, and don't call me that." Elena rolled her eyes at his accusation and the possibility that he was probably right. She never intended to seduce him with her touch, it was unintentional. Most time she hardly realized she was touching him, unless he brought it to her attention, in his own Damon way of course. It was like her hands had a mind of their own, and whenever Damon was in close proximity they gravitated towards him, touching, caressing, and stroking his arms, neck and that gorgeous face mercilessly but until that moment she was never aware of the effect it had on him.

"You do too, Elena. And to prove it, I think we should make a bet." He proposed staring at her with eyes full of mischief.

"What are you up to, Salvatore?" Elena gave him a suspicious look.

"I'm willing to bet you can't keep your hands off me for a whole twenty-four hours."

"I so can." She challenged him. "You're on."

"Good, but we have to agree to some conditions first." He announced. "If you win, I'll spend the entire week baby shopping with you without complaining, but if I win you'll bear whatever consequences of your questing hands." His voice was low and suggestive, and there was no doubt in Elena's mind what kind of consequences would await her if she even so much let her hand brush him in anyway. How hard could it be? She'd just have to avoid him as much as possible. Yep, it was going to be a piece of cake, and she'd teach Damon once and for all that she had the self control that he clearly lacked.

"Starting now, until one o'clock tomorrow afternoon, you Elena must refrain from touching me in anyway."

"Deal." She pushed herself away from him moving to the opposite side of the bed.

She turned on her laptop and began browsing for baby furniture."What do you think of this one?" Elena asked pointing the mouse at one of the many luxurious baby bassinets and cribs.

"Yeah, that one's perfect," Damon answered absentmindedly, his eyes never leaving the television hanging against the wall. After what seemed like hours of browsing through endless pages of baby cribs, they all started to look the same to him, yet somehow Elena thought every tiny detail mattered.

"See I knew you weren't paying attention, this crib is seven thousand dollars." She looked up to find his eyes still glued to the screen across the room.

"Elena, I'd spend one hundred thousand it meant you'd just pick one." Damon begged, wanting desperately to be put out of his misery.

"You, better get used to this, because once you lose the bet, you'll be doing this all week. Besides there's no way we're buying a seven thousand dollar crib, Damon, that would be ridiculous" Elena explained.

"Well, why not? Weren't you just going on about how beautiful it is?" Damon reminded her.

"It's too expensive. It wouldn't make sense to spend that much on a crib," she reasoned.

"It's not like we can't afford it," he replied. "Don't worry, I got everything covered." He pulled her back against him resting his hand lazily on her stomach. "Just like you, I want the best for our little boy."

"You're cheating." She exclaimed desperately trying to pull out of his grasp.

"No where in our agreement did I say I couldn't touch you, we just agreed that you couldn't touch me." He clarified chuckling at the exasperation in her face.

"Fine," she relented. "But this baby's going to need a lot more than expensive furniture."

"Yeah? And what would that be?"

"Well most importantly love." Elena replied searching his face.

"So you don't think I'm capable of loving him?" Damon asked accusingly.

"That's not what I said." Elena replied slightly raising her voice. It always amazed her how they could go from peacefully coexisting to being at each other's throats in a matter of seconds.

"You didn't have to, you implied it." Damon replied defensively.

Elena let out an exasperated sigh. "And just how did I do that?" she asked.

"_Ugh! Damon our son needs more than a crib, he needs love, which you obviously can't provide." _ Damon replied in a mocking tone, doing his best exaggerated imitation of her previous statements.

"You know that's not what I said." Elena responded. "Would I ask you to be part of his life if I didn't think you were capable of loving him?" Her voice softened as she watched his expression carefully. It didn't take long for her to realize that his sudden change in mood wasn't do to his present predicament, it stemmed from something else entirely, something she couldn't exactly place.

"Maybe you don't know any better." Damon mumbled more to himself.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Elena turned herself to face him, and just as she suspected he was avoiding her gaze. She watched as his blue orbs wandered around the room, purposely deflecting her question.

"Forget I said anything." He continued to deflect, pulling himself away from her completely. His hand which once rested on the curve of her stomach fell against the soft cotton sheets.

"For what it's worth, I think you're going to be a great father." Elena continued to search his eyes for any reaction, but all she got was the mask of cold indifference that he wore whenever he wanted to avoid talking about his feelings.

"What do you know? You don't know anything about me." Damon replied harshly, pulling himself away from her completely. The insecurities slowly began to creep in again, as much as he tried to keep them out, the small voice in the back of his mind kept reminding him that he would be as much of a disappointment to his son, as his father was to him.

"Why are you being like this?" Elena was starting to become alarmed by his attitude. They went from having a rather mundane conversation to practically shouting at each other for seemingly no reason at all. "What don't I know about you Damon? Please enlighten me." Elena begged persistently.

Damon fell quiet and she could tell whatever he was struggling with was really taking a toll on him. "I don't know what I'm doing." His voice came out in a tiny whisper, unlike anything she'd ever witness from him before. It seemed like the cocky Damon she came to know completely disintegrated and in his place sat this lost little boy, so fragile and vulnerable.

"Hey, it's okay." she whispered, in an attempt to reassure him.

"No, it's not Elena. Don't you see, this baby's going to be here in a few months and I'm going to be responsible for him, what if I screw it all up?" His eyes became glassy, as he tried to hold back the emotions in his voice.

"You're not going to screw anything up, why would you even think something like that?" She asked. Elena didn't understand where all this uncertainty was coming from. Ever since they moved in together, Damon expressed nothing but excitement about the birth of their son, and now all of a sudden he was riddled with doubt. She told herself not to panic, that he was just having a bad day, maybe his pain medication was screwing with his head, anything to explain his behavior so she wouldn't have to worry about him running out and leaving her again.

"I don't know anything about being a dad, Elena." He whispered, he felt her delicate fingers gently squeeze his offering her support and reassurance.

"Of course you do Damon; you must have had a relationship with your father as a child. I'm sure you remember what he was like, don't you?" Elena watched as his face contorted into an almost uncomfortable expression. She swore she saw a flash of hurt in his eyes, but before she had any opportunity to assess his reaction, his walls came right back up and his face wore an expression of complete indifference.

"I'm done talking about this." he decided.

"I'm not!" Elena felt the anger rise in her throat. She hated that he could be so stubborn. Obviously something was bothering him, and in true Damon fashion he refused to open up about it. No matter how much she pleaded, he remained completely unaffected.

"Well, I'm done. There's nothing left to discuss." He replied stubbornly, looking away from her all together.

"Fine, I'm leaving, don't bother saying anything else to me unless you change your mind." She sat up at the edge of the bed and slowly pushed herself off almost losing her footing in the process. Luckily she landed on her feet completely unscathed.

"God dammit! Elena be careful!" Damon shouted in a panic. He was almost plunging off the bed to break her fall, completely forgetting about his bandaged shoulder that his doctors strictly ordered him not to disturb.

"I'm fine," she sent him squinted glare that quickly faded when she saw a hint of pain flash across his face.

"Damon are you okay, "she slowly examined his shoulder with her hand. "Are you in pain?"

"I'm fine. Where do you think you're going?" he asked confused by her abrupt exit.

"I don't think I want to be near you right now, not with that attitude."

"Elena, get back here!" Damon demanded.

"No, when you're ready to open up and be honest, call me. Until then, I have nothing left to say to you."

She walked out the door, leaving him feeling utterly torn. Damon let his head fall back against the headboard, immediately missing the way her warm body felt pressed against his. Instantly he regretted pulling away from her. God he hated the silent treatment, it was the worst kind of punishment anyone could inflict on him. He preferred to be yelled at, slapped or any number of things; anything but the silent treatment. Only Stefan and his mother knew how much it affected him, yet somehow without even knowing Elena was about to drive him insane by withholding something as simple as conversation. In that moment he came to the realization that he loved talking to her, sure they mostly bickered but he found it amusing the way she reacted whenever he said something she deemed inappropriate. The way her cheeks reddened, or the way her breath hitched whenever he whispered naughty things in her ear.

He was being unreasonable, but he couldn't help it. Elena wanted him to open up about his daddy issues, but he had no intention of revisiting the only screwed up aspect of his otherwise perfect childhood. Unfortunately it had to be one of the more important aspects that left him angry and bitter for the rest of his life. No amount of therapy or anger management as a child was able to help him cope with the bitterness and resentment he felt toward his father, and no amount of opening up to Elena was going to change his past, he just wished he could make her understand that.

Twenty minuted later he heard a knock on his bedroom door, and he smiled inwardly as he thought of Elena being unable to resist being near him.

"Look Elena, I haven't changed my mind. I'm still not going to talk-" Damon's thought was interrupted as Katherine appeared behind the door.

"What are you doing here?"

"You and Elena fighting already? Why am I not surprised, she's not exactly your type."

"What are you doing here Katherine?" He asked persistently.

"Relax, I heard about what happened, and even though we're not exactly on the best terms. I still love-

"Save it." He interrupted, before she could finish her statement. After his disagreement with Elena, the last thing Damon was in the mood for was blatant lies coming out of Katherine's mouth.

"I just came to make sure that you were okay." She answered with genuine concern.

"Like you care."

"Of course I do Damon, despite what you believe I do care about you."

"How'd you even know it was me?" He questioned suspiciously. None of the news stations released any specific names or locations when they covered his story, and aside from his family and Elena's close friends no one else knew about him getting shot, certainly no one Katherine befriended, so it was more than alarming that Katherine knew only two days after he had been released from the hospital.

"This is a small town Damon, it's not hard to come by information." She quickly covered up.

"Of course."

Immediately after he was released from the hospital Damon pondered the possibility of Katherine being behind everything that happened that day, as she was the closest thing he had to an enemy, but none of it added up considering everything he learned from Elena and the police reports. The stranger who shot him didn't harm Elena or Caroline, instead just ran off. Damon got the impression that the guy simply got the wrong house, but by the time he realized it, it was too late. Yet something in the back of his mind told him that he shouldn't completely discard his Katherine theory even if it was founded on absolutely zero evidence. Not that he'd known Katherine to ever attempt anything like this in his years of knowing her, but he still wouldn't put anything past her.

"Your girlfriend's downstairs drowning her sorrows in a huge carton of ice cream." Katherine informed him.

He rolled his eyes at her obvious pettiness, but he couldn't help feeling guilty at the idea of causing Elena any emotional distress.

"Well thanks for your concern Katherine, but I think it's time you leave. I have something to take care of." Damon slowly began rising of his bed.

"You mean you need to go make up with Elena." Katherine replied in complete disgust. It took everything in her not to do or say anything to the brunette when she walked passed her sitting in the kitchen table. She opted for one of her dirty looks instead.

"The matters of my home are none of your business. So if you don't mind I'll see you out." He held his room door open and waited for her to make her way through it.

* * *

><p>Once Katherine was gone, Damon turned his attention to Elena who sat at the kitchen table indulging in a carton of cookie and cream ice cream. He noticed her death glares before he got close enough to speak to her.<p>

"I see you're girlfriend paid you a visit. Elena announced with a hint of jealousy.

"Are you still made at me?" He asked.

"I'm not mad Damon, I'm just confused." She answered taking a deep breath.

"It's my fault, I was being a dick back there." Damon admitted

"That's the most sense you've made all day."

"I thought you said you weren't mad?" He asked teasingly.

"Well I lied, I'm pissed."

"You have every right to be. I was being unreasonable and you deserve answers."

Elena's jaw practically dropped at his response. The last thing she was expecting was Damon to actually be willing to talk to her after he put up such a fight a few moments prior.

"I'm listening." She answered coolly, masking her shock.

"I never had a relationship with my dad before he died. At least not a functional one." Damon began. "Up until he took his final breath I practically hated the man."

"Damon I'm sorry, I had no idea-" Elena apologized instantly regretting asking him to think back about his relationship with his father. It all began to make sense to her, she now understood where all his insecurities stemmed from.

"No need to apologize, you couldn't have known." He assured.

"My father was responsible for a lot of terrible things that happened to our family, and he was neglectful and disapproving of anything Stefan and I did." Damon continued. "In short he was a crappy father, who cared more about his career than his own family."

Elena found herself gravitating towards him with every word that left his mouth. She felt her heart constrict and she realized why it was so painful for him to express his feelings regarding the situation. Damon wasn't very fond of pity, so he avoided conversations that would result in people pitying him.

"I had no idea." Elena searched for some comforting words, but she was at a lost.

"I never explained." He smiled sadly.

"Damon, you don't have to be like him." She assured. "You can choose differently and learn from the mistakes he made."

"Don't you think I want that?" His voice broke with emotion. "But what if it's not enough?"

"As long as you do your best, it will always be enough." Elena explained. "And besides, you think I know everything about being a mom? I'm just as clueless as you are when it comes to this parenting thing."

"Really?" Damon instantly felt relief wash over him after her confession. Admittedly it made him feel somewhat better to know that he wasn't alone in his fears.

"Yeah, you're not alone. That's why we're doing this together." She offered him a sweet smile and soon she was standing directly in front of him,willing herself not to reach over and stroke his face.

"So are we okay now?" Damon brushed a few chocolate strands away from her face, pulling her closer to him.

"For now. Until we fight again." She laughed softly.

"Good, but we're still getting that crib. I don't care how much it costs," he teased inhaling the sweet scent of her hair.

She gave him a questioning look, shaking her head slightly. "Fine," she relented. "If that's what you want."

"Oh please, you know you want the crib," he teased nuzzling into her neck. She let out a loud shriek jumping at the sudden closeness. "Damon, stop it!"

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked. "You're going to hurt yourself again."

He rolled his eyes at her dramatic reaction. "I promise to be more careful love."

"Stop calling me that." Her cheeks turned bright shade of red.

"What? Do you prefer something else?"

"Yeah, Elena."

"That sounds so formal; we're having a baby together. I was thinking more along the lines of baby or sweetheart, or honey." He grinned at her exasperated expression.

"Right, we're having a baby together, but _we're_ not together." She clarified, signaling between the two of them.

He brushed the soft strand of hair away from her ear. "Aren't we?" he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her earlobe. His hand which once rested over the stretched cotton fabric of her t-shirt, had found its way underneath it. Ever so often he'd feel the slight flutter underneath his finger tips whenever their son wanted to remind them of his presence. "What do you call this? What we're doing." He asked.

Elena felt her body tense up at his question, asking herself, _what were they doing? _She didn't have a single clue of how to define what they had. Were they lovers? Were they even friends? How'd they even manage get to this point? She agreed to move in with him, only as a means for them to get to know each other and raise their son in a stable environment. Not once did she even think of what kind of relationship was appropriate for them to have. They already crossed the line once, and with the way she struggled to keep her hands off of him, she wasn't surprised the lines had gotten so blurred.

Though she never actually encouraged his advances, she didn't exactly fight them off either. Elena wasn't sure what was going through her mind the night they almost slept together. All she knew is that if Caroline hadn't come knocking when she did, she would've had her second serving of Damon Salvatore. Somewhere deep down she wanted just that, just to be reminded of how she ended up pregnant in the first place, to relive that magical moment they shared in New York just weeks before she moved down to Mystic Falls. From what she remembered from that night, it was without a doubt the best sex she ever had in her entire life, the fact that she could hardly recall the details was a true testimony to her incoherence after experiencing multiple orgasms. The only thing she remembered was the intense feeling of pure satisfaction and bliss.

Given her current location in his arms, resting her head against his chest, his hand drawing lazy circles against the soft flesh underneath her shirt, she was beginning to think Damon had a point, as much as she denied it her behavior towards him was a dead giveaway that her feelings were anything but friendly. She barely left his bedside all morning when she wasn't busy making him every comfort food she could think of. Of course there was the incessant inquiry about his pain level and comfort, not to mention she fluffed his pillows at least five times that morning alone. It finally dawned on her that maybe she was just as inappropriate with him as he was with her. Her advances toward him weren't of the sexual nature yet seemed all the more _inappropriate_. Of course she should have realized that the blissful domesticity of their relationship would make it hard to actually define what they had, and she was responsible for it. His mother came to visit with every intention of tending to all her son's needs, but poor Anetta never anticipated having to contend with Elena for her Damon's affections. The older woman gracefully bowed out, content and confident that her oldest boy was in the best hands.

As scary as her realization seemed, Elena had a feeling it was too late to change anything now; they couldn't just go back and undo all the bonding and closeness that transpired between them. She shuddered at the thought of leaving his side after everything that's happened, she just couldn't do it. They were already in way too deep; pulling away would do more harm than good.

She looked up at his expecting eyes and gave him a sweet smile. "I don't know what we're doing, Damon." She let out a deep sigh, burying her head into the crook of his neck.

"Elena?" His voice came out in a sultry whisper.

"Hmmm."

"You're doing it again." He informed her, a smile creeping onto his lips.

Elena looked down to where her hand was rubbing gentle circles against his arm. She let a small cry of defeat before hanging her head in shame. It hadn't even been two whole hours since their bet, and she had already lost.

"It's okay, not many women can resist me." Damon taunted. "You put up a good fight, but you never really stood a chance sweetheart."

"You cocky ass." Elena responded in amusement. "So what exactly are these consequences you spoke of?" She got straight to the point, not wanting to further prolong her "punishment."

"You're about to find out." Damon leaned down and captured her lips in a searing kiss. Elena felt her knees buckle at the intensity, and it wasn't long before she felt his arms wrapped around her waist in an effort to steady her. She parted her lips slightly, granting him access to her mouth, and soon their tongues began battling for dominance. He swallowed every soft moan and whimper that escaped her soft lips, causing his insides to quiver. His lips traced a warm wet trail all the way down to her collar bone, nibbling gently at the tender flesh of her neck.

"Damon, I don't mean to be a sore looser but I don't think you're in the best condition to take this any further." Elena cautioned, reluctantly pulling herself away from the sensation his lips created against her skin.

He let out a whimper of protest, but he knew she was right. With his shoulder still bandaged, sex was one of the activities that he was forbidden to partake in.

"You're not getting off this easy," he warned. "You just wait until I'm better."

Elena giggled uncontrollably at his obvious discomfort. "You're impossible, Damon."

Damon brought his chin up to rest on the top of her head, and inhaled the sweet vanilla scent of her shampoo. Being so close to her did things to him, and not just in the physical sense. It made him feel things he'd never once felt before. He felt a sense of belonging; his heart erupted with this feeling completely foreign to him. He figured it had to be the reason he couldn't seem to keep his hands or eyes off her. Whenever they were in the same room he felt this intense magnetic pull between them, and despite her less than encouraging reactions sometimes, moments like these told him that she enjoyed the closeness as much as he did.

The two of them stood there completely engrossed in each other's embrace, until the loud ring of Damon's cell phone forced them apart. Elena let her arms fall from where they were linked around his neck.

"Hello?"

_"Is this Damon Salvatore?"_ A female voice asked.

"Yes, may I ask whose speaking?" Damon politely requested.

_"Good. Mr. Salvatore I'm going to need your help. I'm sure you're familiar with Katherine, she's my daughter."_ The woman replied.

"Yes, we've dated in the past." Damon clarified, earning him a weird look from Elena. Despite being with Katherine for so many years, she never once introduced him to her parent's or anyone in her family. Every time Damon brought it up, she came up with some convenient excuse and Damon eventually dropped it.

_"She's told me about you, sometime ago."_ The woman informed him. _"By any chance do you know where Katherine might be?"_

"Actually I just saw her, she was just here."

_"Where is here?"_ The woman inquired impatiently.

"Mystic Falls, Virginia." Damon informed her. He was growing a little worried, by the fear he detected in the woman's voice.

_"Damon, listen to me carefully. You have to be careful._" The woman warned. _"Katherine isn't well."_

_"_What the hell are you taking about?" Damon felt a slight panic rising in his throat. "How did you even get my number?"

_"That's not important."_ The woman dismissed. _"What you need to know is that my daughter is a danger to herself and all those around her right now and I urge you to be careful."_

_"_Just what the hell does all of this mean?" Damon felt his patience wearing thin at the woman's ominous tone. Elena's curious expression hardly helped matters, as he had managed to lose his cool, and he knew that meant endless questions he didn't have answers to.

_"Be careful, I'll be flying to Mystic Falls as soon as I can to get a handle on the situation."_ With that the woman hung up, providing no real answers to the many questions that swirled in Damon's head.

"Who was that?" Elena asked before Damon could remove the phone from his ear.

"I'm not sure I know." He looked at her with look of complete uncertainty and something akin to fear. Elena knew Damon's many faces, and fear is something she'd never seen him express before. The look on Damon's face caused an indescribable feeling of dread rise in her chest, and she knew even before he uttered a word that bad things were on the horizon.

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><p><strong>Thank you guys for reading. Hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to let me know what you think! :)<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

***Embarrassed* Thank you guys so much for reviewing the last chapter! I don't know if anyone actually still remembers this story since it's been so long since I've updated, but I just want to let you all know I appreciate it. I've just had a lot going on with school and had a little case of writers block half way through this chapter. I didn't want to force anything so I had to let it come to me naturally. Lol. Anyway thanks again guys and I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing.**

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><p>"Which one do you think I should wear tonight?" Katherine looked over to where her best friend sat flipping a tabloid magazine. She held up two very skimpy dresses in an effort to get Lucy's attention.<p>

"Does it matter? They look exactly the same to me," the brown haired girl replied, sounding slightly uninterested.

"Why did you bother flying out here if you're not going to help me?" The brunette huffed in frustration.

"What exactly am I helping you with?" Lucy gave her friend a questioning look. "Why are we going to one of these boring town gatherings? I know a friend who can get us into a nice lounge right out of town."

"You know why we're going." Katherine stated leaving no room for negotiation.

"Oh right I forgot. Damon's going to be there." Lucy rolled her eyes dramatically and continued to flip through the pages of the magazine. She still couldn't fully comprehend Katherine's fixation on Damon Salvatore, but then again she had known Katherine for years and there was plenty she couldn't understand about her, but none of it mattered to Lucy. She liked to have a good time, and she couldn't remember a time when she didn't have one with Katherine. When they were in New York they were practically unstoppable, partying every night of the week and picking up men wherever they went.

"What if he's there with his pregnant girlfriend?" Lucy immediately regretted the words before they fully left her lips. She watched as Katherine nearly lost her composure, her face contorting into an expression of complete disgust.

"She's not his girlfriend," the brunette replied in a deathly calm tone. "And besides when he sees me in this dress, it'll be hard for him not to take notice." A seductive smile appeared on her face, immediately replacing the cold expression she wore seconds prior.

"So are you just going to walk up to their table and crawl in his lap?"

"Of course not, the whole point of tonight is not to get Damon to ditch that pitiful girl for me, that'll happen in due time. We're just setting everything up."

"Okay…" Lucy reluctantly agreed. Something about Katherine's tone was slightly unsettling. Lucy had a feeling that Katherine had more up her sleeve than a plan to seduce the older Salvatore brother. Seducing men was an art that she and Katherine had mastered over the years. Together they broke up many happy homes without even a shred of guilt. She promised to help Katherine get Damon back in any way she could, it was the only way to get her best friend to move back home with her.

"So how's your mom doing?" Lucy asked casually, trying to shake the uneasy feeling that slowly crept inside her.

"Why do you ask? What did she say to you?" Katherine blurted without thinking.

"Relax; I don't even think she knows who I am, since you refused to introduce us." Lucy commented with a hint of bitterness. "I was just curious; last you told me she moved out of the country."

"Yeah, she's still overseas." Katherine looked away suspiciously. "Anyway I just want us to focus on tonight, it's very important that everything goes accordingly."

"Okay… So who's the guy you're eager to introduce me too?" Lucy asked changing the subject completely. "I didn't think there were any hot guys in this one pony town, but if he caught your eye he must be something special."

"Oh he is, but it's not like that; he's going to help us. I just thought it'd be good to have everyone acquainted." She slipped out of her previous attire and stood in front of the full length mirror completely naked.

"I see someone got some more work done." Lucy commented watching her friend through the mirror.

"I was actually thinking of going up another cup size," Katherine stood examining her perky breast in the mirror, before squeezing into the skin tight dress. The silky blue material stopped way above the middle of her thighs and showed ample cleavage. Katherine smiled approvingly at herself before turning to her friend for feedback. "Well what do you think?"

"If Damon doesn't notice you in that dress, I'll have to start questioning his sexuality."

"That's exactly what I was going for." Katherine smiled slipping on her seven inch heels and grabbing her makeup trunk. Lucy immediately sat up to help apply her make-up.

* * *

><p>"Elena, come on." Damon begged, his eyes searching for her at the top of the staircase. He looked at his watched and noticed they were already half an hour behind schedule. Mrs. Lockwood's charity events usually gave him an excuse to go out, get drunk and hit on the easy women of Mystic Falls, but Damon was slowly realizing that easy women really paled in comparison to the woman who was carrying his child.<p>

"Elena, I'm coming up," he warned as he began to march up the stairs. When he got up to the master bedroom he found her standing in front of the mirror indecisively trying on earrings. He noticed the dress she had one was a completely different shade of blue, not to mention a lot longer than the one she wore fifteen minutes ago, when he reassured her that she looked stunning.

"What do you think?" She turned to ask for his approval.

"You look just as breathtaking as you did the last time you asked," and he meant it. Elena was gorgeous no matter what she wore. Everything she put on hugged her in all the right places, and he often had to refrain himself from reaching out and grabbing her. He only wish she'd believe him when he told her so.

"You don't think it makes me look fat?"

"I know better than to answer that." Damon chuckled, pulling her against him. "It doesn't matter what you wear Elena, you look amazing either way."

"So if I decided to wear a trash bag you'd still think I'm gorgeous?" She challenged, watching his expression intently.

"You'd still be the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on." He brought his hand up stroke her cheek gently.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better. If I was so gorgeous you would have remembered that you slept with me in New York, when we met."

"Technically I did."

"Yeah like weeks later." She rolled her eyes in agitation. "So save me the lies Salvatore. I know you don't mean it."

"Is this one of those hormonal mood swings I've heard about?" He asked with genuine curiosity. "You know the ones where you take everything I say and turn it into something bad?"

"Shut up, Damon." The death glares she threw in his direction told him he'd better choose his next words wisely.

He had no intention of getting into an argument with her, but lately it seemed almost inevitable. With Elena's due date seemingly fast approaching and all the safety precautions they'd been taking since receiving that ominous phone call from the mysterious woman who claimed to be Katherine's mom, things had gotten a little tense between them. They both feared the worst, but for some reason refused to acknowledge it or confide in each other enough to express it.

Damon just went on about how he wouldn't let anything happen to her, and Elena reassured him she could take care of herself. They hardly ever spoke of it again, but it was really all either of them could think about.

Weirdly enough Damon never heard from the woman again, despite her claims of coming to Mystic Falls right away to rectify the situation. He was starting to lose sleep thinking of all the possibilities. The very next day he scheduled an upgrade on their home security system, despite Elena's protest that she wouldn't live in fear in her own home. He just couldn't risk it, he didn't know what exactly he needed to protect her from, but he wasn't about to take any chances. At least now they could see whoever was at their door during through the TV monitor before inviting guests inside.

Elena's voiced snapped Damon out of his internal worrying. "I don't think I'm in the mood tonight, maybe you should just go without me."

"Come here." He sat on the edge of the plush mattress, pulling her to stand right in between his legs, his arms encircling her waist. "What's the matter?"

"I don't know Damon, I just have a lot on my mind and I'm not really in the partying mood," she replied with a hint of sadness.

"Does this have anything to do with the Katherine situation?"

"Yes and no. I don't know Damon." She let out a sigh of frustration, running a hand through her lose curls. "I just feel so unattractive, and I don't feel like being around so many people."

"Unattractive?" He raised an eye-brow at her questioningly. "Have you not heard a word I've been saying?"

"Yes, apparently I'm the most gorgeous woman in the world," she answered dryly. "I just don't feel like it."

"If you don't feel like it, then I suppose I'm to blame." Damon brought her hand against his lips and pressed a gentle kiss against the back of her hand.

Elena felt her spine tingling but it didn't surprise her, whenever Damon's lips touched her skin it did things to her that she could hardly explain. "Damon what are you doing?" His fingers were now entwined with hers and he brought them to rest on her stomach.

"I want to show you just how attractive I find you." He pulled her closer forcing her to sit on his lap with her back facing him.

The feeling of his warm breath against her neck made her insides quiver as he continued to whisper compliments in her ear.

"You have no idea, how much I want you." Damon whispered his voice heavy with lust. His arms reached down to tickle her sides, her body pressed against his providing a delicious friction between them. "Do you feel that?"

Elena didn't even have to ask what he was referring to, as she certainly felt his hard length pressing firmly against her backside. It took every ounce of restraint in her body not to roll her hips just once; instead she nodded her head, while doing her best to catch her breath.

"This is what you do to me." His lips were now caressing the outer shell of her ear, occasionally nipping at the delicate skin there. Elena's gripped sheets willing herself to remain in control. She never knew how she managed to find herself in these compromising positions with him. It seemed like they'd be having a normal conversation one minute, and the next she'd find herself practically grinding on his lap.

His hand which once rested against her stomach slowly made its way to her soft breast, and she felt herself unconsciously move toward his wandering fingers. A soft moan escaped her, the moment Damon's thumb brushed against her hardened nipple through the sheer material of her dress. Her hips jerked involuntarily, and she heard him grunt as the sudden movement increased the friction between their lower bodies.

Damon grabbed turned her to face him, pressing soft kisses against her collarbone, inching slowly to her neck before capturing her soft lips for a searing kiss. Before she knew it Elena felt her back hit the soft mattress and Damon was now hovering over her, their lips never parting. She kissed him with reckless abandon feeling the overwhelming lust completely overtake her. She felt like a match had been lit inside her and every kiss, and every touch from Damon was the fuel that kept her fire burning hotter than the sun. The dull ache between her legs became unbearable, and she found herself tugging at the waist of his trousers, almost begging him to put her out of her misery.

Damon noticed her lust filled state, and he couldn't help the cocky smile that slowly crept on to his face. "Still feeling unattractive?"

The words that spilled from her mouth were pretty much incoherent; Damon could only make out a few but the way she continued to rub his length with her foot, told him all he needed to know.

Just as Damon began to unfasten the buckle of his belt, he felt a vibrating sensation against his thigh and seconds later Elena's phone rang on the dresser.

"Dammit." He cursed as he reached into his pocket and Elena sat up to answer hers. It was Stefan and Bonnie, calling to ask what was keeping them. Once again Damon believed that everyone close to him or Elena had to hate him. He was so caught up in their moment that he'd completely forgotten that they promised Bonnie and Stefan a double date of sorts. They were supposed to meet up and apparently they were getting tired of waiting. Knowing Stefan, Damon was sure he was probably tripping all over himself and making Bonnie think he had some kind of mental disorder. Damon knew they had to be at the party, at least to keep Stefan from making a complete fool of himself if not for anything else.

"Since, you're obviously no longer feeling unattractive; I'd say you're not opposed to attending the party after all." Damon whispered as he tried to come to terms with the sad reality of his situation. He watch as a blush crept up her cheeks.

"I guess, it can't be that bad." She conceded shaking her head amusingly at him. "Just let me fix my hair first, and then we can go."

"Promise, no more wardrobe changes?"

"Only if you promise we'll pick up where we left off when we get back." Elena hadn't a clue what possessed her to say that. It's not something she'd ever said to a man before, but something about the way Damon made her feel in that brief moment gave her this confidence that she couldn't explain.

"You keep talking like that and I might just have to write a check and bring you back here right away." He winked and gave her a seductive smile before sliding off the bed to adjust his clothes. "I'll go start the car; you have about five minutes Gilbert."

* * *

><p>Elena and Damon arrived at the venue to a very pleasant atmosphere, there was a live band, beautiful décor and people were socializing, and dancing the night away. Damon looked over and spotted Stefan and Bonnie sitting awkwardly at a small table to the right of the ballroom. Taking Elena's hand in his he led her over to where her best friend and his brother sat, with way too much space between them for two people who were supposed to be on a date.<p>

"It's about time." Bonnie almost let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her friend walking towards her. "What kept you two so long?"She asked with a suggestive wink in her eyes.

"Nothing, I was just having another wardrobe crisis." Elena glared at her friend playfully; at least it was partially true.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Damon chimed in, pulling out her chair. Once she was seated he took a seat right beside her.

The four of them chatted for few minutes before Damon began clearing his throat incessantly, clearly trying to communicate something to his younger brother who sat directly in front of him, with a clueless expression.

"Uh… Bonnie would you like to dance?" Stefan asked nervously.

"Sure," she rose up out of her seat and followed him to the dance floor.

Elena couldn't help but dissolve into a fit of giggles in her seat. "You set that up, didn't you?" she eyed him amusingly.

"I may or may not have." Damon replied nonchalantly.

"I know you did, that has Damon Salvatore written all over it." She gave him a playful shove, and he took the opportunity to pull her closer to him, putting his arm over her shoulder.

"I think it's sweet the way you look out for him," she let her head fall against his shoulder as she snuggled against him. Her eyes searched his face, and she continued to laugh as he tried to feign indifference.

"It's not sweet," Damon scoffed, rolling his eyes at the mere thought of being described like some soft sugary treat.

"It definitely is. You're sweet, even though you pretend not to be."

"I'm glad you think you have me all figured out." His lips brushed against the top of her head, and he inhaled the sweet smell of her shampoo, letting the faint vanilla smell tickle his nostrils. Damon was usually not big on public displays of affection, but he couldn't manage to keep his hands off her since they arrived, especially not after what they started back at home. Soon he was nibbling her ear and he could feel her quick intake of breath as she struggled to contain herself.

"Damon, quit it. Not here." She gave him a wide eyed stare, her voice coming out a lot more breathy than she wanted. Elena believed she knew exactly where ear nibbling would lead to and she wasn't sure she'd have the will-power to stop him if it went any further. They'd probably end up in a bathroom stall somewhere like a couple of horny teenagers.

"We're adults, have some self control." She scolded, more to herself than to him.

"Self control is overrated." With that he captured her lips in his and her whimpers of protest quickly dissolved into moans.

* * *

><p>"I guess this isn't the evening you had in mind huh?" Lucy looked on somberly as Katherine downed another shot of vodka. They arrived at the party earlier than most of the guest, and Katherine's "plan" didn't seem to be coming along as she hoped. She had yet to hear from their other accomplice and she hadn't been able to take her eyes off of Damon since he walked in with Elena. Sadly he hadn't looked in her direction once since he'd settled down. All his attention seemed to be directed at the other brunette that sat beside him.<p>

Every time he kissed her, Katherine felt the anger and bitterness almost consume her entirely. She felt like destroying something. How dare they sit around flaunting their relationship in her face?

"It's no big deal, it's just one set back," She answered her eyes never leaving the table where Damon sat feeding Elena some pasta off of his plate.

"I don't know Kat, it seems like he's really into her. I've seen how Damon can be with women, but somehow this seems a little different."

"Since when has that ever mattered?" Katherine all but shouted at her friend. "How many times have we been able to lure men away from their wives?" She added in frustration."This should be no different, especially since he rightfully belongs to me anyways!"

"You're right," Lucy agreed. "I must be getting soft." She laughed off her previous statement. Part her felt bad for what they were planning to do to Elena. Having had father pass away before she was even born, Lucy knew the pain that child would feel if Katherine's plan to lure Damon away actually worked.

"We can't have that, and don't think for a second that she and that bastard child of hers doesn't have this coming. She's a manipulator and a liar; she knew Damon would be stupid enough to claim that child as soon as she could force some tears from her eyes."

Lucy listened on as Katherine went on a drunken rant about Elena deserving everything that's coming to her. She could tell her friend was completely wrecked, and having to watch Damon less than ten feet away doting on what she assumed was his pregnant girlfriend couldn't be easy on her.

"Maybe we should just leave." She suggested, looking at a depressed Katherine who was now slouching lazily at the bar, obviously getting a little too drunk to even sit up straight.

"No we can't leave, he'll be here any minute and then we can carry on with the plan." Katherine slurred, forcing her eyes to focus on Damon.

"What plan Kat? You keep talking about this plan, but I have no clue who or what you're referring to." Lucy was growing frustrated with Katherine stringing her along, she usually trusted her best friend but she couldn't shake the feeling that this plan was probably way over her head, maybe borderline criminal. She and Katherine had been heartless in their pursuit of married men in the past but they had never done anything that was too extreme or against the law.

"I'll have another shot," Katherine spoke to the bartender, completely ignoring Lucy's concerns.

"No she won't," her friend interjected frustratingly. "That's enough Katherine. I'm not carrying you out of here."

"Fine then, I'll just have a beer."

The bartender disappeared briefly and returned with a chilling bottle of beer and placed it right in front of her.

"Put it on my tab." Katherine ordered before taking a huge gulp of the cool liquid. As if she hadn't tortured herself enough she let her eyes wander over to where Damon and Elena sat once again, and she noticed her getting up from where she previously accompanied Damon at the table. Her eyes followed Elena into the ladies restroom, and she couldn't help the smirk that grew on her lips upon realizing that they were finally separated for the first time the entire night.

She now had two options. She could either go over to Damon and let him ravage her with his eyes, as she was certain he wouldn't be able to look away, or she could use the opportunity to confront Elena for the first time. As much as she wanted Damon, after watching Elena flaunt him in her face, she found that her bitterness and anger toward the girl overpowered any immediate desire to reconcile with Damon.

"I'm going to the ladies room." Katherine announced to Lucy who had apparently gotten fed up and decided to get a drink of her own.

"Are you sure you're okay going alone, you can barely stand."

"I'm fine Lucy I don't need you to hold my hand." Katherine bit back in frustration. It was imperative that she and Elena have this moment alone. She didn't want anyone there to distracting her from letting Elena have a piece of her mind. She grabbed the bottle of beer and swung her legs over the stool and headed to the restroom.

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><p>Once in the bathroom Katherine was pleased that there was no one else occupying it other than herself and Elena who seemed to be in one of the stalls. She poked her head out to make sure no one else was coming, and she was pleased to see that most of the guest began dancing and singing along as the band played a favorite song. She smiled again, realizing now that she could shout as much as she wanted to and no one would be able to hear them.<p>

Soon she heard the flush of the toilet and Elena fumbling out of the stall. With a smirked plastered on her lips she relished at the sight of horror expressed on the face of the girl before her.

"Well Elena, it seems we meet again." She started slowly moved closer to her and taking a swig of beer with each step.

"What are you doing in here?" Elena asked her eyes darting around the bathroom for a means to escape. She knew better than to try and carry a conversation with the woman who lied to her face, and crashed her dinner party. Katherine was clearly unpredictable and she didn't want to waste any time trying to figure out her motives.

"What am I doing here? I believe the real question is what are you doing here Elena? Here, at this event, here in Mystic falls?" Katherine stepped closer to Elena nearly boxing her in one corner of the restroom. She could practically feel the fear rolling off the younger brunette. Good. She wanted Elena to fear her, it made her feel powerful.

"Look Elena, you've wronged me. I was willing to look past it, but first you take Damon away from me and then you carry on flaunting him in my face." She literally spat out.

Elena could smell the alcohol on Katherine's breath, as she felt the spit practically landing on her face.

"I can't do this right now. You're drunk." Elena replied, attempting to maneuver herself out of the small corner where she was trapped.

"You can't do this right now?" Katherine cackled hysterically. "I wasn't under the impression that you had much of a choice." She moved in even closer and gently pushed her against the wall of the bathroom.

"Well what do you want then?" Elena's fear was slowly intensifying. She kept praying that someone, anyone would come in at that moment so that she could be free of whatever kind of sick game Katherine had in mind. She felt a gentle kick in her abdomen, and she knew the baby was probably starting to sense her apprehension and was beginning to get a little restless.

"What I want is to have my Damon back." She answered in a calm voice.

"I'm not keeping Damon from you, if he wanted to be with you, trust me I wouldn't be one to hold him back."

"I'd watch my tongue if I were you?" Katherine snarled, shoving her with a little more force against the wall. "You are the one holding him back, you and your bastard baby!"

Elena froze completely, she was sure she would have probably peed on herself if she hadn't emptied her bladder a few minutes prior. Her fear had skyrocketed and she swore she could hear the sound of her heart pounding out of her chest. Here she was in a bathroom with Damon's drunken psychotic ex-girlfriend who was probably not above hurting her if she tried to leave.

"What should I have done? Let him go on living with no knowledge of his child?" Elena realized at that point it was probably pointless to try and rationalize with Katherine, as the woman was clearly not very rational when she was sober, but she couldn't stand around without at least defending her choices.

"His child? His child! Who do you think you're fooling Elena? You think I don't know that baby isn't his?"

"What are you talking about?" Elena could literally feel Katherine's breath on her face as the woman was now hollering just centimeters away from her face. The stench of alcohol from her breath almost made Elena fall over from overwhelming dizziness.

"Just admit Elena; just admit you're nothing more than a gold digging whore who's using some baby to trap him, because the real father probably wanted nothing to do with your sorry ass!" Katherine's fist came pounding on the wall beside her head and Elena actually felt herself pee just a little bit.

"That's not true." Elena insisted, despite being nearly crippled with fear. By then tears were rolling off her cheeks at a rapid pace and her eyes were swollen and red from all the crying.

"You think I care if you cry. " Katherine was in hysteric again. "I don't care about anything Elena, not you and definitely not your baby. I only care about Damon, and until he's mine again, you're going to be doing a lot more crying."

"Why are you doing this?" Elena asked in a barely audible voice.

"I just want what's mine Elena. I'm sure even you can understand that."

"Damon is not an object that you can just claim as yours." Elena was so bothered by her objectifying him that she couldn't help but speak up through the tears. She immediately regretted it though, as she felt Katherine reach out with one hand and gripped her throat tightly, nearly cutting off most of her air.

"Are you telling me what I can and cannot do?" Her voice was deathly calm and it frightened Elena more than any amount of shouting or yelling.

"I...uh...can't breathe." Elena managed to get out.

"That's the point." She continued to hold her there for a few more moments, enjoying watching the girl struggle to take a breath.

Before she nearly suffocated Elena reached her hand out in an attempt to remove herself from Katherine's deathly grip, but was met with more force and an even angrier Katherine, who slammed her up against the wall enough to actually hurt her this time. The sharp pain shot straight up her spine as her back hit the tiled surface.

"Stop… it….Please!" Elena was begging, breathing was becoming harder and harder for her, and she felt a faint dizziness threatening to overtake her.

"How does it feel not to get what you want Elena?"

Refusing to give up, Elena swung her fist towards Katherine and landed a hard punch right against her cheek. The punch was hard enough to send Katherine tumbling a few feet away in her already drunken state. Elena took that opportunity to attempt to escape, but in her pregnant condition she didn't get far before Katherine caught up. She felt Katherine pull roughly at one of her loose curls sending her back a few feet away from the door.

"You stupid bitch, how dare you!" Katherine screamed.

Elena couldn't even properly process what happened next, all she remembered was the sound of Katherine shouting profanities, and the feeling of a hard glass bottle making contact with her forehead. Immediately she fell to the floor from the just the impact alone. The remaining beer in the bottle spilled over her face as the glass shattered into little pieces. She could feel the burning sensation behind her eye lids as the beer seeped into them. With the beer came the blood that dripped from her forehead where the glass sliced her open. There was a pounding in her head that only grew louder and louder as the seconds went on. Her vision began to blur until she could hardly make out the image of Katherine standing over her. Slipping slowly into unconsciousness she held a hand over her stomach in an attempt to shield her unborn child from any harm.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading. Leave me a review let me know what you think :)<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Oh my! You guys are the best! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much for reviewing the last chapter! I love the feedback and I'm thrilled that you're enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it. I tried to reply to every review so my apologies if I left someone out, just know that your feed back is greatly appreciated! Bear with me guys the semester's almost over, and I'll have plenty time to update this story regularly again. **

**Disclaimer: I own none of the characters!**

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><p>"What the hell took you so long Kat?" Lucy eyed her impatiently. "It feels like you've in there for ages."<p>

"I wasn't feeling well," Katherine lied. "I think we should go."

"Well in case you were wondering your mystery guy never actually showed up. Looks like we were stood up tonight."

"Yeah…Yeah. It doesn't matter let's just go okay," Katherine said dismissively. She grabbed her bag hurriedly before almost yanking Lucy out of her seat.

"What the hell happened to your face?" Lucy couldn't help but notice the big dark bruise sitting just centimeters below Katherine's left eye. The left side of her face was nearly swollen, and it looked like it hurt like hell, not to mention her eye suddenly became really sensitive to the brightly lit ballroom. It was almost as if Elena had brass knuckles on when she swung at her.

Katherine searched her brain for a response, as she was clearly unaware of the magnitude of the damage done to her face, before Lucy brought it up. "I hit my face on the door," she continued to fib. "Now come on. We've been here nearly five hours I want to go home." She continued to drag Lucy behind her in a hurry to leave before anyone could suspect anything; she threw her purse over her shoulder and used her free hand to hide the obvious mark underneath her eye.

"But…wait a minute Kat! Look, it looks like Damon's finally alone, there's your chance. Go over there." Lucy stopped abruptly just seconds before they were out of the door, only to be yanked violently by a furious Katherine, who gripped her hand with almost inhumane strength, causing her friend to nearly howl in pain. Katherine's eyes darkened and her jaw clenched tightly as she struggled and failed miserably to hold in her rage

"What part of let's get out of here don't you comprehend?" Katherine was shouting now, making a scene as a few guest glanced over in their direction to see what the commotion was all about.

"What the hell Kat?" Lucy whispered under her breath in an attempt to minimize the attention that Katherine drew onto them. She glared at her friend in annoyance as she flexed her hurting wrist. Katherine's odd behavior was growing more and more alarming by the second. At certain instances it almost appeared like someone else possessed her body. Her eyes were blood shot red; she was beginning to sweat profusely, causing her carefully coiffed hair to stick to her forehead. She paced back and forth unable to stand in one place for even a second, her left hand never leaving her swollen eye. Lucy had a feeling that Katherine's drunken state could not explain the multitude of symptoms that she was displaying. Something was wrong, and she'd get to the bottom of it before the night was over.

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><p>Damon looked down nervously at his watch. It had nearly been twelve minutes since Elena disappeared to use the restroom and she hadn't returned. He looked around the giant ballroom for any sign of her, but there were none. Knowing Elena, he tried not to worry too much. She was probably in there obsessing over something completely trivial, like whether she wanted to keep her hair up or down. He decided to send her a text message to speed up the process.<p>

_Elena, did you fall in there?_

After failing to get response from her, Damon looked around for Bonnie. He spotted her and Stefan conversing out on the balcony. Despite his slight panic, Damon couldn't help but smile inwardly as he watched his brother interact with Bonnie. He watched as they laughed and talked and he mentally patted himself on the back for managing to somehow revive his brother's non-existent love life.

"Bonnie, have you seen Elena?" Damon interrupted Stefan. "She went to the lady's room, but she hasn't come back. I figured she was probably out here with you."

"No I haven't seen her, since Stefan and I left you two at the table" Bonnie replied, getting slightly worried.

"That's weird, where is she? Stefan asked. The three of them did a mental scan of the large ballroom, attempting to spot Elena's blue dress with no luck.

"I'll see if I can get her on her phone." Damon announced, fishing for the small device in his pocket.

"I'll go check the restroom, maybe she got sick again." Bonnie led the way to the woman's bathroom with Stefan and Damon not far behind her. As they made their way through the crowded ball room, their eyes wandered in every direction in hopes of catching a glimpse of Elena mingling with one of the guest.

Bonnie let out a blood curdling screen at the sight of her best friend lying laying limp on the floor of the restroom. Blood nearly covered her entire face; the image of Elena on the ground scared her more than the kind of horrific gore that she'd seen in some of the most disturbing scary movies. For a moment Bonnie stood there in complete and utter shock, unable to move a muscle in her body. Every coherent thought immediately left her mind as she stared mindlessly at Elena's form lying helplessly on the floor. It wasn't until she heard Damon's voice on the other side of the restroom door did she snap out of her shock and let another desperate scream leave her mouth.

"Oh my god. Damon hurry. It's Elena, she's hurt." Before the words fully left her mouth she saw the door swing open harshly, only to watch as Damon's eyes widened in horror as he took in the scene before him. Despite his obvious panic, Damon immediately rushed to Elena's side to check for a pulse, a breath, anything that would indicate that she was in fact still alive.

"She's still breathing, Bonnie call an ambulance," Damon shouted urgently in Bonnie's direction, who still hadn't recovered from her shock.

"Bonnie!" Damon yelled again, waving his hand to get her to focus. "Call an ambulance!"

"I already called, they're on their way." Stefan answered appearing from behind the door. "How is she?"

"How does she look?" Damon bit back frustratingly. He couldn't believe what was happening, one minute she was sitting beside him enjoying a wonderful evening, talking, laughing and listening to music, and less than twenty minutes later, he was holding her limp form against him, as she bled profusely from her head.

"Stefan grab me some paper towels, I need to put some pressure on this wound." Damon ordered. He looked around at the shattered pieces of glass on the ground, and the broken beer bottle left behind by Elena's attacker. He couldn't how anyone could be so heartless, how _Katherine_ could be so heartless, as to attack a pregnant woman. He didn't even have to ponder, he was absolutely sure this time that Katherine attacked Elena, or she was at the very least behind it somehow. He hadn't notice her at the party at all, but the crime scene might as well had her name written all over it in bright neon letters. No one else would be so bold and careless; no one else he knew had a shorter fuse than Katherine Pierce.

Yet she was nowhere in sight, most likely fleeting the scene and leaving Elena to bleed out on the bathroom floor. The very thought filled him with so much rage, he had to take deep breaths to keep from letting his anger completely unravel. He needed to keep it together for her, _for them. _This wasn't the time to let his rage consume him, if there was ever a time to put everything he learned from his anger management sessions as a kid to work, this was definitely the moment.

The five minutes that it took for the paramedics to arrive seemed like the longest minutes of Damon's entire existence. When they arrived, Elena's head was cradled in his lap as he applied pressure to the huge gash on her forehead. All of the guest watched in shock as Elena was carried out of the venue on a stretcher, creating a spectacle that Damon was sure would be the talk of the town for weeks to come. It was moments like that, that made him hate living in such a tiny town. He hopped inside back of the ambulance never letting go of Elena's hand, as Stefan and Bonnie agreed to meet up with them at the hospital.

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><p>"Kat, are you going to tell me what really happened tonight?" Lucy asked, cautiously approaching the subject. It had been a little over an hour since they arrived back to Katherine's apartment, and neither one of them had said a word about the events of the night.<p>

Katherine continued to pace around nervously, even as they arrived home. She hadn't stayed in one spot for longer than five minutes, constantly moving from the couch to the fire place, and then back to staring outside the window. "I did what I had to do," she whispered.

If it weren't for Lucy's acute hearing she would have never even caught her words. "What are you talking about Kat, what'd you have to do?"

"I had to do it! She would have hurt me!" Katherine was back to shouting again in a matter of seconds.

Lucy began to approach her carefully, slowly reaching her hand out to touch her friend, hoping to calm her down a bit. "It's okay Kat, I understand, just tell me what happened?"

"She attacked me, so I hit her in the head… with the bottle." Katherine explained slowly.

"Who attacked you?"

"That wretched girl Elena that's who." The brunette spat out vehemently.

"And you did what, is she okay? Katherine are you insane, she's pregnant!" Lucy couldn't believe what she was hearing. "And you left her there?"

"Of course I did, do you see what she did to my face? If anything I was too easy on her." Katherine bit back. "She deserved it!"

"Why did she attack you?" Lucy questioned. "Why would she risk putting her baby in danger?"

"How am I supposed to know? Maybe she's as crappy of a mom, as she is a human being."

"This story isn't adding up Kat." Lucy slowly stepped away from Katherine to stand on the opposite side of the room.

"Are you calling me a liar? Lucy you're supposed to be my friend! You're supposed to be on MY side!" Katherine cried out hysterically. "How dare you take up for _her_, after what she's done to me?" Tears began to descend her cheeks and her already puffy eyes swelled up even more.

Lucy immediately felt the pangs of regret rising in her chest. She and Katherine had been friends for a long time, and she felt guilty for not having her back, and she certainly didn't intend to make her cry, she just wanted the truth and she had a feeling Katherine wasn't telling it. None the less she couldn't stand idle while her best friend fell apart, so she moved in close and enveloped her into t tight hug. "Sorry Kat, you're right. I should have your back. I'm sorry. I just want to know what happened, and I promise to believe you this time."

"I already told you." Katherine sniffled, wiping the tears from her face. "I walked in, and she started going on about how Damon belonged to her, and how he doesn't want to be with me. Of course I don't back down, and next thing I know she's launching herself at me, and she punches me in the face. I panicked I had the beer bottle in my hand, and I just swung at her. I was defending myself."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Lucy offered, trying to muster as much sincerity in her voice as she could, despite somehow knowing that Katherine's story was bogus. There's no way a pregnant woman would pick a fight and put herself and unborn child in danger. Elena may have been the "enemy," but somehow after briefly seeing the girl, Lucy knew that she couldn't possibly fit what Katherine described. It was Katherine's behavior that seemed a lot more erratic and inexplicable lately. Her temper was shorter than usual, and she was obviously keeping things from her that Lucy couldn't figure out.

As she held on to her friend, Lucy debated whether or not she should stick around Mystic falls, despite her bad feeling or take the next available flight back to New York in the morning.

* * *

><p>Damon sat at Elena's bed silently watching the gentle rise and fall of her chest. After endless tests and scans were performed, Damon was beyond relieved to hear that there was no severe damage done to Elena or the baby. When the doctor uttered those he swore he could practically kiss the older man, right on that shiny bald spot on the top of his head. After spending almost two hours panicking in the waiting room, the good news caused a wave of relief to wash over him and he couldn't wait to be in the same room as Elena again.<p>

The doctor easily stitched up the gash on her head, and warned Damon that the pain killers would probably keep her out for a few more hours. Damon didn't care how long it took; he thought he almost lost her that night, so he'd wait for an eternity if that's how long it took for her to wake up.

Despite the relief he felt knowing that she was okay, he couldn't help the anger and guilt that continued to creep in whenever he let his mind wander about what might've taken place in that restroom. Katherine was in Mystic Falls because of him, ever since that night months ago when he called her down Mystic Falls to distract him, she never returned back to New York. He remembered it was a much simpler time, before he knew about Elena and his son and his only responsibility was himself. There was nothing he wouldn't do to take back the night he called Katherine. He never anticipated something as simple as a long distance booty-call could threaten to ruin his life, and almost claim the life of his unborn child.

Elena stirred slightly startling Damon out of his depressing thoughts. His lips curled up into a small smile as he watched her eyes flutter open began to dart around the dark room. He was up and beside her in an instant, his hand removing the silky strands of hair away from her face.

Elena let out a small whimper as she took in her surroundings. The room was freezing, a dim light shone on the table beside her, she could barely make out Damon's features hovering above her. She was at the hospital. Almost immediately the events of the night replayed themselves in her mind and panic began to set in. She was attacked; her hand slowly made its way down her swollen stomach in an attempt to feel her son "Damon, the baby?"

"He's fine… Don't worry he's okay." Damon reassured with a sad smile.

Elena let out a breath that she hardly realized she was holding. "Good."

"You're both fine." He informed her, but it didn't seem to do much to soothe her. He watched carefully as the tears slowly pooled at the corners of her eyes. There was no other feeling quite like it, watching the tears slide down her cheeks, her eyes puffy and red, little sobs and quiet cries escaping her mouth. In that moment he was sure clean stab right through the heart would be a lot less painful to endure. He hated seeing her so broken, it hurt him even more to know that he was at least partly responsible.

All those years of womanizing had finally came back to bite him in the ass. _Hard. _Ironically he couldn't seem to get rid of Katherine nowadays despite the fact that she barely wanted anything to do with him in the past. Now he's the one who wished she'd disappear.

"I know she did this to you. She's not gonna get away with it," he whispered in the most comforting voice he could muster. When she didn't reply or even acknowledge his statement, he reached out to comfort her, only to feel her jerk her arm away.

"Elena, I'm so sorry. I'd take it all away if I could."

Still she didn't say anything, simply turning away from him completely to face the white wall on the other side of the room. Part of her understood he wasn't to blame, he couldn't control what his psychotic ex-girlfriend did, but it was hard not to feel some kind of resentment, after all the reason she was lying in a hospital bed in her condition was because Damon's involvement with Katherine in the first place. Elena needed someone to blame, someone to direct her feelings of anger, hurt and frustration and at the moment Damon seemed like the perfect target.

"I understand you've been through a lot, and you obviously need some time alone. I'll be sitting outside. Just call if you need me." He stared somberly at her back for a few moments before reaching out to squeeze her shoulder, observing the way she nearly flinched at his touch. As he walked out the door, the stream of tears began to flow at an even more rapid pace. Her vision was completely blurred as the warm liquid began accumulate in her eyes, her cries became more audible and her body shook almost violently with more anguish than she'd experience since the death of her parents. It was clear that having Damon near her after what Katherine did would be hard, but not having him close to her was proving to be a lot more difficult than she anticipated.

* * *

><p><em><strong>2 Weeks Later<strong>_

Elena looked around at the vaguely familiar faces in her living room. Caroline spent hours on the decorations, spending most of her time focused on the bright blue banner that greeted her guests.

Despite the fact that she really was in no mood for company Elena mustered up as much joy as she could, not wanting to let her Caroline down after working so hard to throw her the best baby shower she'd ever attended.

They played all of the cliché baby shower games so much that Elena thought she'd barf from eating so much baby food. Part of her really did enjoy herself, it was such a relief to take her mind away from all the troubles of her real life, and just catch up with old high school friends. Everyone seemed to be genuinely happy for her and there were no uninvited guests crashing her party like the previous time. The guest kept on coming though, each carrying gifts and embracing her as she struggled to recall some of their names.

"Caroline, I thought we agreed to keep it small?" She whispered in the blonde's ear, her smile never leaving her face, despite her slightly agitated tone. "I said no more than fifteen people. This is like double."

Caroline let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, about that… I thought about what you said, but then I thought, more guests equals more fun and more importantly more presents… for the baby of course" Caroline explained, grabbing Elena's hand and leading her to one of the guest rooms. When she swung the door open Elena couldn't believe the piles of gifts that completely filled the room. Various brightly colored wrapping paper covered every inch of the room, leaving almost no space for her to walk through.

"Caroline what did you do?"

"Nothing Lena, I may have specified what gift everyone should bring on the invitation." She mumbled under her breath.

"Caroline!" Elena's eyed widened in disbelief. "God these people must think I'm crazy!"

"How much money did you spend on all this stuff for this shower anyway?"

"No worries, Damon paid for everything. It's his baby after all." Caroline replied innocently.

"Care! Why did I not know about this?" Elena nearly yelled.

"I knew you'd react like this Elena, and he deserves to be involved no matter what's going on between you two. And besides, he just wanted you to be happy, just like I do."

Caroline's eyes lowered in disappointment. "But I guess I messed it all up didn't I? You hate everything." She really just wanted everything to be really special for her Elena. After everything Elena's been through, she figured the least she could do is throw her the perfect baby shower to cheer her up, but she had a feeling her friend was less than thrilled with the outcome.

"No… no Care, you didn't mess up. I love it, and I appreciate all your hard work. Sure there are some things I would've done differently but it's still great..." Elena wrapped her arms comfortingly around Caroline, smiling reassuringly at her.

"Where's Damon? He's missing all the fun."

"I don't think baby showers are Damon's thing." Elena lied.

She knew why she hadn't seen him all day despite them being in the same house. He was giving her space like she asked. Ever since the incident with Katherine, things were incredibly tense between them. They hardly spoke much unless it was related to her case that Stefan had been put in charge of. It turned out that Katherine and her lawyers put together a well fabricated story that completely changed the events of the night. Just as Elena filed a police report after her attack, Katherine had done the same. Stefan presented Elena with the pictures taken of Katherine's bruised face, as she claimed Elena attacked her first and she retaliated only in self defense by knocking her in the head with a bottle. Stefan informed her that the case would be a lot trickier as there were no other witnesses and it was basically her word against Katherine's. Elena's heart sank at the realization that there was still a huge chance of Katherine getting away with everything she had done to her, more importantly what would happen to her once she did. She couldn't live in Mystic Falls in fear for her life every day, in case Katherine decided to pull more tricks from her sleeve.

Damon offered his support but she was still so very hesitant to accept. She remained mostly distant from him, and as much as she hated seeing him so hurt by it, she just wasn't ready to face him after everything that happened. So they danced around each other, both ignoring the elephant in the room. She missed him, that much she couldn't deny. She missed his snark, his humor, the way he teased her. Most of all she missed the feeling of his arm snaked around her waist, the way his lips would brush against her hers.

Still she hadn't told him about her plans, maybe it was for fear of him strongly opposing, but she knew she keeping it from him much longer wouldn't do either of them any goon. Caroline and Bonnie both reassured her that it was the right thing to do, that it was all for the best. The hard part would be getting Damon to understand, to say she wasn't looking forward to breaking the news to him, was the understatement of the century, she was dreading it actually. But putting it off wasn't helping and she knew time was running out. He should have been aware of her plans long ago, and once again the guilt of keeping it from him was almost becoming too much to bear.

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><p>Damon walked in the kitchen just as Caroline was taking the extravagant three tiered cake out of the box. He was actually quite impressed with it, there was such attention to detail, not to mention it looked absolutely delicious. Leave it to Caroline to make him spend nearly four hundred dollars on a cake.<p>

She gave him one of those pitying looks that he hated so much. He just wanted to disappear because even only having known Caroline for a short time, he could tell she was about to corner him somehow.

"You know you shouldn't miss the cake, it's the most important part." Caroline commented without even turning to him.

"I don't know how Elena will feel about me being there, it's her day I don't want to ruin it." Damon replied, "I think I'm just going to stay away."

Damon was miserable the last two weeks since Elena left the hospital; it was like he had forgotten what it was like to be alone despite being on his own for so long. All of a sudden the silence became deafening and unbearable, while in the past he had found it to be quite comforting.

When Caroline did turn her attention away from the cake her expression was serious, which he thought was rare.

"Look, Damon Elena's not trying to hurt you; she just needs a moment to figure everything out. Moving back in with Bonnie for a while is gonna help her sort it all out, and besides she just wants to feel safe, even if it's just for a little while, you know?" Caroline explained.

"What?"

She watched as the utter confusion and soon anger appeared on Damon's face and immediately she wished she could take back the bomb that she just dropped on him. Apparently Elena never got around to telling Damon about her plans to stay with Bonnie for the time being, until the things with Katherine were straightened out.

"I didn't…mean." She sighed in exasperation, but before she could even fully attempt to rectify the situation Damon was storming out of the kitchen. Caroline silently cursed herself for letting her big mouth once again ruin things for her friend. Elena was going to kill her that much she was sure of.

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><p>Elena was in the middle of a conversation with Dana, one of her old friends from Mystic Falls High, before she felt a strong grip on her upper arm and subsequently she felt herself being almost dragged into one of the empty guest bedrooms. It was long before she realized that her captor was none other than Damon Salvatore, and he looked none too pleased with her to say the very least. Dread immediately rose in her chest because she had a feeling he knew just what was wrong.<p>

"So were you ever going to tell me that you were fucking moving out, or was I just going to come home and find all of your shit packed?" He shouted, after slamming the door shut behind him.

"Don't you swear at me Damon! I was going to tell you!" She yelled right back. Oh he was angry; she didn't think she'd ever seen him or anyone that angry before. His eyes nearly bore holes right through her, his jaw clenched tightly as he struggled and failed to contain his anger.

"You wanted space, I gave you space… The least you can do is not let me hear about you moving out from Caroline!" He was moving closer to her, the pain and frustration plastered all over his face. It hurt her more than she ever thought it would. Here was this man who waltzed into her life and turned it upside down and subsequently changed his whole life completely to accommodate her and their unborn child. He deserved better than what she was doing to him, and she hated herself for hurting him the way she was.

"I was going to tell you!" She screamed back again in her own frustration, there really was no real explanation other than the fact she was afraid to tell him the truth. He was right and she knew it.

"I should have been the first person you spoke to about this." His voice was a lot calmer now, but it was far from comforting. The anger hadn't disappeared if anything it only amplified and she could still see the flaring of his nostrils and the hurt and disappointment in his eyes.

"You think this is what I want Damon?" Her voice came out in a choked sob; and soon she could taste the salty tears on her lips. She was almost shaking from the maelstrom of emotions she was experiencing.

"Then why are you doing this?" he challenged moving closer to her. "Why are you leaving?" within seconds he was standing in front of her, and she was sandwiched between him and the white wall behind her.

"I don't want to…but it's for the best." Elena whispered, not fully convincing herself, despite both of her friends reassuring her.

Damon let out a humorless laugh. "Of course it is, you keep telling yourself that Elena," he stepped away from her and headed towards the door in defeat. Before he could get it open he felt something slam hard against his back, as Elena hurled her right pump at him missing, her target; his head only by a few inches.

"You don't get to make me feel bad for doing what's right for _my_ child!" She screamed her voice was getting hoarse from all the previous yelling. Her vision was completely blurred by all the tears, and she was fuming with anger. How dare he insinuate that she wasn't doing it for the right reasons? As if she got some kind of sick joy from hurting him?

"Your child?" Damon eyed her questioningly. "Sorry I guess I was under the impression that he was mine too, where did I ever get such a silly idea?" He retorted sarcastically stalking towards her.

Before the words fully left his lips she was charging at him, her small fists slamming against his chest relentlessly. Elena felt all the bottled up rage and resentment bubbling to the surface, overflowing until she could no longer contain it. Everything was his fault, if only he hadn't made himself so available at that bar when she was at such a low point in her life, if only he hadn't offered her a way to dull the pain, none of this would have happened. She wouldn't be in this mess; she wouldn't be feeling this heap of conflicting emotions. The guilt, the anger, sadness, and more importantly the fear of losing this precious life they've created together. The thought alone threatened to send her spiraling into an abyss of darkness and despair. She hated him, both for giving her such a precious gift and for being the reason she'd lose it.

"Stop it Elena. That's enough!" He shouted struggling to get a hold of her hands that continued to slam against his chest and claw at his skin and leaving red streaks where she drew blood. Once he finally got a hold of her wrist, he gripped her tightly, pulling her almost forcefully against him. "I said that's enough!" He glared at her with the most daring look in his eyes. He watched as she eventually stopped fighting against him only to struggle to catch her breath. Their heavy breathing was the only sound in the room aside from the faint rustling and bustling of the guests mingling outside. With her body pressed closely against his hard form, Elena felt the raging sea of emotions within slowly begin to subside only to be replaced by a feeling all too familiar.

Damon watched as her chocolate orbs darkened revealing the desires that she now fought to conceal. Finding them in a compromising position, Damon debated his next move. On one hand the bed was only a few feet away, and he knew with just one step they could be one step toward working off some of that tension that threatened to ruin whatever they had, on the other hand he didn't want to initiate anything unless he was absolutely sure it was what she wanted.

It didn't take him long to find out, as Elena's lips came crashing against his and capturing his lips in a desperate kiss. His grip loosened on her wrists and she ran her hands through his hair grabbing a handful of the raven strands, and pulling him even closer to her. Damon let his arms slip around her waist picking her up, her legs wrapped around his waist, as his tongue explored the contours of her mouth. Their kisses became more frantic, and Elena heedlessly tore away at the buttons of his shirt, the round dots falling freely on the ground. All of a sudden the bed seemed too far away, Damon haphazardly cleared off the dresser with one hand, knocking down and shattering the lamp that sat there, and replacing it with the doe eyed beauty that attached her lips to his.

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><p><strong>Again guys thanks so much for reading, don't forget to leave me a review and let me know what you think! <strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! *waves* I know it's been forever since I last updated.. But I'm back with a new chapter of this story, this a pretty long one (completely unintentional). I want to thank everyone for reviewing the last chapter, I love and appreciate the feedback so keep it coming, I love to know what you all think.**

**AN: There were some issues with the chapter, and I took it down momentarily to make some adjustments. A few people PMed me and I'd like to say thanks for your patience and I hope you all enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I own none of the characters.**

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><p>Elena felt her back hit the hard surface of the wall, as he placed her gently on the dresser. Their lips never parted and her grip on his hair tightened. Her whole body felt like it was on fire, every part of her tingled almost like tiny electric currents all over her. His hands were everywhere, caressing her shoulders, her back, and cupping her breast through the flimsy material of her shirt, leaving a trail of heat in its wake that seemed burn scorching hot before eventually settled right at her core. She arched her back, forcing herself toward him wanting to be as close to him as physically possible, desperately wanting to feel his hard length against her. She let out a needy whimper as he was just out of reach. He pushed his hard length against her, tracing feather like kisses from her jaw-line, to her collar bone all the way down to the valley between her perfectly round breasts.<p>

Soon she could feel his hands teasing the hem of her shirt, resting gently on her stomach before briefly tearing his lips away and pulling it over her head. As soon as her shirt was discarded Damon lips found hers, exploring her mouth. He never felt anything more exhilarating than the feeling of her tongue sweeping across his own, and the tiny moans that escaped her soft lips were almost enough to send him catapulting to the point of no return. Their gentle kisses were growing desperate and needy with all the pent up frustration and emotions bubbling to the surface.

He lifted her off the dresser with ease, her legs wrapped tightly around him, his hard member pressing tightly against her center. She could feel the moisture pool between her legs as he placed her gently against the cotton sheets. He took a moment to appreciate her figure, she was gorgeous, and lying there with her lustrous brown hair fanned out contrasting the white cotton sheets. Her cheeks were flushed; her eyes slightly dilated and dark with arousal. He let his eyes wander down to her soft curves, tracing his finger over the rise of her belly. He felt her shiver in anticipation and it only made his jeans tighten in response.

Damon couldn't wait to undress her, starting with her lacy bra, he moved up slowly and reached behind her and slid it down her arms. The feeling of his fingers brushing against her back and arms had her tingling, and eager for more of his touch. His lips closed around the hardened peak of her right breast, the sensation causing her to arch her back and pressing her stomach against his, and keeping their lower bodies from touching. The incessant pulse between her legs was driving her insane, and the lack of friction there was the worst kind of torture.

"Damon." Her voice was a needy whisper, and it immediately got his attention. "Please," she wasn't above begging if it meant relief.

"Don't worry I got it." He promised, he planned on taking his time with her. He'd been waiting too long for this moment, and he wasn't about to rush it. He wanted to worship her entire body from and savor every minute of their time together.

Clearly she wasn't as patient as he was. "Damon, please." She whimpered.

He slowly trailed kisses back up to neck and captured her lips once more to quiet her pleas.

His fingers hooked at the waist band of her pants sliding it down past her hips right along with her lacy red underwear, her body rose off the bed to help him in his efforts. Now the only thing that separated them where his pants; and Elena tugged at them desperately, but he had something else in mind. His lips traced feathered kisses again down her neck, between her breast before once again taking the rigid bundle into his mouth, massaging it with his tongue and teasing gently with his blunt teeth. She let out a loud hiss, and her fingers dug into the raven strands of his hair. After paying homage to her other breast, he continued his exploration lower pressing soft kisses against her stomach, enjoying the way she pleaded and whimpered for him to continue.

He smiled inwardly as his feelings the faintest flutter against his fingers. Words couldn't describe the feeling of joy that swelled up inside him whenever he felt it, but right now his joy would have to wait as he heard Elena whisper his name once more.

She could feel his hot breath right where she needed him, but when she tried to arch her back he pushed her gently back against the bed.

"Patience." He whispered, before placing wet kisses on her inner thighs, nibbling gently at the soft flesh there. Instantly she felt the pulse between her legs intensify to unbearable degrees.

Just as another whimper left her lips, she felt the pressure of his tongue against the small bundle between her legs, and her whimpers were replaced with moans of satisfaction as his tongue swirled against her clit. Elena sat up on her elbows looking down at him; the sight of him between her legs was enough to send her spiraling. She could feel her heart rate speeding up at each stroke of his tongue; her legs were shaking vigorously as the tension built up in her core. He slipped a finger easily into her wet center starting a rhythmic pace as his tongue continuing it's assault on her clit.

The combination of his tongue and fingers was working her to a fever pitch. Her moans grew louder, until she was writhing mess underneath him.

"Oh. God." She moaned her head was spinning; her eyes were shut tight, as sensation after sensation ripped right through her. She was so close, just a few more strokes of his tongue and she's be spiraling into a pleasure filled abyss. Her wish was granted as his tongue caressed her sensitive nub, and his fingers pumped mercilessly inside her. Elena felt her entire body tighten, her insides squeezing his fingers tightly. She bucked her hips violently, her hands pushing his face against her wet folds, as she experienced the sweet sensation of her release.

Once her vision cleared, and her heart rate returned to normal, she dragged him back up to her capturing his lips in a tender kiss. She felt like a fire had just been ignited inside her and all she wanted was to do was experience the feeling over and over again.

She pushed his shirt off his shoulders, exposing the well defined muscles of his chest and arms. Her hands immediately traveled down his chiseled body, stopping only when it landed at his belt buckle. Her eyes found his and it was almost as if she was asking for his permission. Damon's hands replaced hers instantly, removing his pants. He was left in nothing but his boxers, feeling the cool breeze of the air conditioner against his back. She immediately slid his boxers over his slim hips, letting his erection spring free.

She pushed herself against him, her stomach once again getting in the way of her of her satisfaction. She groaned in frustration, falling back against the bed. Damon chuckled softly, before he grabbed her legs, hooking his arms underneath her knees to pull her to the edge of the bed.

"I told you, I got it." He whispered huskily in her ear. He positioned himself at her swollen entrance, teasing her briefly before sliding all the way in, eliciting a loud moan from her. He stilled his movements, allowing her to adjust, and desperately needing to get himself together in order to make it last for her. Elena angled her hips forward giving him the green light to move, and he did just that.

She never knew a better feeling; every stroke deeper, and harder than the last. She didn't even recognize her own voice filled with unbridled lust as she urged him to go faster. Nothing else existed in that moment, not their arguments; neither did the two dozen guests that mingled just outside their door. The only thing that mattered to her in that moment was the intense feeling of satisfaction as his hard muscles molded perfectly against her soft curves, his hands cupping her sensitive breast and his hot breath against her slender neck. Elena wanted to scream as the feeling was almost overwhelming, and the coil in her stomach tightened until it snapped and she was flying, every nerve in her body was on fire. She felt her inner muscles contract around his length, leaving them both shuddering and shaking until they both tumbled over the edge into blissful oblivion.

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><p>Elena felt a chill run right through her as Damon index finger drew tiny circles against the soft curves of her stomach. With her head pressed against his hard chest as she listened to the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat, while her other ear listened for any sounds coming from outside the bedroom door. Just like she thought her baby shower ended, and Caroline had obviously seen the guests out before leaving herself. She looked up slowly at the gorgeous man who held her so possessively in his arms, and couldn't help but laugh internally at their current predicament. The last place she thought she'd end up by the end of the day was in bed with Damon, and of course there she was. From the very start nothing about their relationship had ever been predictable, there was always that element of surprise. From accidently getting knocked up by a complete stranger, to being attacked by his nut job of an ex-girlfriend, she couldn't say life with Damon was dull.<p>

"What are you thinking about?"

"What makes you think I'm thinking about anything?" She looked up and saw the curiosity in his face.

"Because, I know you." He said simply. "So I know when you're mind is working over time, what is it?"

She didn't know how she felt about the truth in his statement. _He knew her._ A little too well for her comfort at times, but he was right her mind was definitely putting in some work. "It's just that, we didn't solve anything here, Damon. What we did is we complicated things even more." She let out a sigh of frustration.

"I think we resolved _something,"_ he teased, referring to the sexual tension they spent months fighting.

"Damon, I'm serious. This doesn't change anything." She couldn't allow herself to be caught up in his web of temptation and sex, as amazing as it felt. A decision was made and she still had every intention of going through with it.

"Oh you mean the fact that you decided to move out without even talking to me about it."

She should have anticipated that response, and immediately the guilt ripping through her. "I know I should have talked to you."

"Yeah, like sometime before you made that decision." He quipped. "He's my son too Elena and we agreed to make this thing work between us for his sake. You can't just decide to leave without talking to me first."

"You would have never agreed, and you know it." She shot back. "I just want to protect him Damon, this baby has been in way too many precarious situations and he's not even here yet."

He brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes, getting a good look at her face. "I want all the same things you want. I just want us to communicate because fighting about it obviously doesn't get us anywhere, but here in bed," he laughed at the last part of his statement. "Not that I mind it though."

She blushed profusely and elbowed him playfully. "God, you're a dick."

"Oh admit it, you love me." He hadn't meant it like that, he was only teasing but it slipped out and he could already feel her entire body go rigid like a stone statue in his arms. Now that it was out there Damon couldn't help but wonder if there was any truth to it. Did he want her to love him? But more importantly did _he_ love her? Was it even possible after everything he'd been through with Katherine? He'd never deny how close they've gotten, or how many thoughts of her occupied his mind on a daily basis, but he usually chalked it up to their electrifying attraction. She was stunning, has a beautiful face, and a gorgeous body even for being nearly eight months pregnant, and after the way they went at it tonight, he was sure his mind would never let him get any work done, ever again. But it was more than the physical attraction, Elena was smart, she was sweet _when she wasn't aiming shoes at his head that is_, he laughed at the thought. There was that fire she had simmering right below the surface, she was as passionate as he was, and he loved that about her. Then of course there's her remarkable capacity for compassion that left him speechless on many occasions. He just knew she was going to be a damn good mother to his son. He was sure of that, more sure than he was about his own parenting abilities. Okay, so he admired other things, _more like everything_ about her aside from how explosive they were in bed together. Did that mean he was in love with her?

Sensing the awkward silence Elena quickly changed the topic, taking him out of his thoughts. The last thing she wanted to do in that moment was let her mind wander into _that_ territory. It was no secret that they were both harboring deep feelings for each other, heck they were practically together, just not officially.

"I'm sorry for being such a raging bitch earlier." Thinking back she may have overreacted a little, _or a lot_. Now that her head was clear, and her exaggerated emotions weren't dictating her thought process, she could actually acknowledge that he was right; she should have spoken to him before planning to move out.

"It's okay, I'm getting used to it." He teased, pulling her in for another kiss before she could comment on his little dig on her. Damon regretted it soon enough as he felt her teeth digging into his bottom lip.

"You're an evil woman, Elena." He managed to say as soon as the feeling returned in his lip.

"Fitting for a _bitch_, don't you think?" she smiled at him triumphantly.

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><p>Elena woke up to the incessant ringing of the door bell. She reached over to wake Damon, but she found his side of the bed empty. Figuring he must have gotten up for work, she reluctantly dragged herself out of bed, her body still sore from the events of the previous night. She threw her robe over her pajamas and slid on her soft bedroom slippers made her way down the stairs.<p>

When Elena opened the door she felt all the air leave her lungs. Surely her eyes were playing tricks on her. Just when she had managed to somewhat deal with the chaotic mess of emotions from the previous day; her life continued to throw curveballs at her, making it nearly impossible for her to have anything resembling emotional stability.

He stood there nervously; his familiar brown eyes held such sorrow and she could tell it must have taken a lot of courage for him to be standing at her door. He changed so much since the last time she'd seen him. He was at least a foot taller and sometime between now and the last time she'd seen, him he'd started growing a beard, but she could always recognize the boy she spent most of her life trying to protect. Elena didn't even realize when her eyes got misty, or when the single tear rolled down her cheek, until she was forced to wipe them away.

"Jeremy." She let out a choked sob, as she launched herself into her baby brother's arms. He wrapped an arm around her briefly, pulling away almost immediately to get a look at her.

"Wow." He whispered in astonishment. It had been almost a year and a half since he'd visited her in New York, and not even hearing about her pregnancy could have prepared him what he saw. In that moment he felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him. It felt like just days ago it was just the two of them, looking out for each other, after having lost all of their immediate family members. He remembered clearly the hell he'd put her through in his days as a rebellious teenager, getting high by the old cemetery with the other stoners from school, or showing up to school hung-over, from whatever rave he'd attended the night before . Elena had always been there for him, no matter what trouble he'd gotten himself into. She always understood his grief, never judged and did everything in her power to help him overcome it.

He never did though; at least not then, but it was through no fault of hers. The damage that was done by the death of their parents was not something Elena could fix with a few hopeful words and a hug. His depression only spiraled out of control, and there were a few times where he contemplated ending it all. He'd come close so many times, and he'd never forget when she'd walked in on him in the bathroom with a handful of prescription pills. The horror on her face was etched in his brain permanently. That night he could hear her crying herself to sleep and his heart ached with every sniffle and gasp he heard through the paper thin walls of his room. The guilt tore through him like a tornado through a small town. After everything she'd done for him, she didn't deserve it. She deserved better than a coward brother who'd take his own life and leave her deal with the emotional fall out all by herself. Elena deserved better than him.

With that in mind urged her to take that culinary scholarship in New York. He knew it was something she'd always wanted to do since they were just small children. It was her chance at a better life, but he knew she wouldn't take it unless she was absolutely sure he'd be okay. So he promised her he'd continue seeking professional help, told her not to worry and saw her off to the airport.

He didn't get the help though; he stopped seeing his therapist almost as soon as Elena left. Instead he reunited with Vicki, his ex-girlfriend who was probably a lot more screwed up than he was at the time. Any chance of him ever getting clean and pulling his life together disappeared as the days, weeks, and months went by. Soon enough things went sour between he and Vicki; once the money ran out, she did everything she had to do to continue feeding her addictive habits. That meant sleeping with other men, and Jeremy was forced to draw the line. He was broke, strung out on drugs with a girl who was so far gone; she didn't care about anything other than where she'd get her next fix.

The phone calls became less frequent and the visits ceased completely. Elena panicked just like he knew she would, but somehow Bonnie talked her into letting go and letting him live on his own terms. He knew it was hard for her, but it never stopped her from reaching out to him. However the guilt he carried with him made it impossible for him to face her or accept her comfort. So he avoided her, and couldn't even bring himself to face her when he heard she moved back to town.

Through it all Jeremy realized he was he was even more depressed than he ever was after his parents passed on especially after he discovered Vicki's dead body on the floor of their grungy apartment after an overdose. He finally decided enough was enough, the very next morning he checked himself into rehab and began the process of getting his life back. He'd since gotten his life on track; he'd been clean for ten months, two weeks and four days exactly. And now he was standing in front of his sister door, wearing an apologetic expression. It had taken all his courage to finally face her. He knew he didn't deserved to be in her life; not after everything he'd put her through and especially not after he refused her first invitation. It was incredibly selfish of him to turn up on her door step without even a warning or a phone call. He didn't know how she'd react to seeing him, but he heard from Caroline that she'd been dealing with some troubles lately, and he was sure it was his responsibility to be there for her now that he had his life in order. He only hoped she would let him.

She invited him as soon as she could wipe the tears from her face. He wasn't sure if they were tears of joy or sadness, possibly a combination of both. Before he could protest she was dragging him into the kitchen within seconds and making him breakfast. He chuckled softly; Elena would always use food to ease the tension whenever there was a really tense situation. He figured he'd do his part to put them both at ease by making some small talk.

"So you live here alone?" He asked, watching her crack a few eggs into a large pan.

"Oh no, Damon left for work. You just missed him." She turned around and gave him a small smile.

"Damon is…"

"The baby's father," She finished.

"Right, Caroline might have mentioned him. Is he from around here?" Jeremy was definitely curious about this Damon person. It bothered him more than he was willing to admit, that he knew nothing about this man who was apparently the father of his sister's child, but then again he only had himself to blame for that.

"No actually, he's from New York. It's where we met." Elena explained.

"What about Matt? Last time we spoke you thought you two were going to be engaged." He inquired.

"That was a long time ago Jer." Elena couldn't help the hint of bitterness in her voice. She was going through the emotional ringer again. On one hand she was thrilled to have Jeremy sitting in her kitchen while she made him breakfast, it brought back so many memories of the time spent in the kitchen with their parents; she wanted to know everything that was going on in her brother's life and she wanted to let him in on every crazy detail of hers. But she was holding onto a lot of anger toward him for cutting her out of his life, and abandoning her at the time when she needed her brother the most.

"Right of course." He answered sensing the strain in her voice. "So what's he like, this Damon guy?"

Elena opened her mouth to answer but she couldn't find adequate words to describe him, and with the events of the previous night still vividly replaying themselves in her mind she was sure that the words at the tip of her tongue were certainly not appropriate to share with her younger sibling. She settled for "Damon's gonna be a great father."

"That's great; I'd like to meet him some day."

"If you stick around long enough, you will. He should be home by noon." Elena informed him, pushing a steaming hot plate of eggs, bacon and toast in front of him. The delicious aroma caused his stomach to growl and he moaned in satisfaction as he lifted a fork full of the fluffy eggs into his mouth. He always loved Elena's cooking, even before she became the chef to the stars.

"So you and Damon, are you guys serious?"

"We're serious about this baby." Elena said with a laugh. She couldn't believe after all this time; she and Damon were still playing this weird game. She still didn't know whether to consider herself his girlfriend or simply the mother of his child. Sure they flirted, kissed and now they'd even slept together but they'd avoided any conversation about labeling what was happening between them.

"Do you know what you're having." Jeremy continued, choosing to ignore the obvious confusion on his sister's face after his last question.

"A baby boy," Elena replied proudly. She was almost eight months into her pregnancy, and her due date was right around the corner. And she was so ready to have that baby. She missed being able to see her feet, she was tired of the back pains that wouldn't go away no matter how many times Damon massaged her. She wanted to fit into her old clothes again, but more importantly she wanted to finally be able to coo over her precious baby boy.

"I can't believe you're having a baby, Lena." Jeremy looked at her in complete awe. His sister was always very nurturing so he knew she'd make a great mom, but seeing her pregnant made him realize just how much they'd both grown up. It reminded him of just how much time had passed, and that there was a lot that he needed to make up for.

"That's life Jer." She studied his face for a moment drinking in his very presence. Words couldn't describe how much she missed him. Not a day went by that she didn't think about him. Where was he? What was he up to? Did he have everything he needed? Not reaching out to him and letting him come to her on his own terms was the hardest thing she ever had to do. Bonnie reminded her that it was the right thing though, so she supposed she should give her friend some credit, because here he was.

"Where were you Jer?" She asked tearfully. Her eyes got misty again and the tears were falling down her cheeks quicker then she could wipe them away. _Stupid hormones,_ she thought.

He knew they could only beat around the bush for so long before they had to address the dancing elephant in the room. Of course she'd want to know where he was, and why he'd never called or visited anymore. He wished he had a better explanation or any explanation for that matter but he didn't. He had nothing except for the same sorry excuses he's had practically his entire life.

"I was in a bad place Lena, and I didn't want you to have to deal with any of it. God knows you've done enough already." He explained.

"Jer, we're family. There's no such thing as doing enough. You should have come to me." She insisted. "I missed you so much."

He lips formed a bittersweet smile. He missed her more than she knew. "I missed you too Lena."

They spent the rest of the morning catching up. Jeremy told her about everything that happened to him since they last spoke. Her heart shattered at every grueling detail, she cried more times than she could count _stupid, stupid hormones_. She hated that he had such a hard time and never contacted her for help. He assured her that everything was better now, he was clean, he'd gotten an apartment and he was looking to get his life back. Elena was happy to know he'd found some light at the end of this depressing tunnel.

Then it was her turn to share. The last time she tried to reach out to him, it hadn't played out the way she hoped, but since he was obviously having a change of heart she figured she may as well be honest. Elena didn't miss the shock on his face when she informed him of the circumstances in which she ended up pregnant. His eyes widened even more when she explained Katherine's violent attacks on her. But she was grateful that he didn't judge, he simply offered his support and she welcomed it.

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><p>Katherine sat impatiently at the grill. She looked at her watch for the billionth time and looked around the grill but still there was no sign of him. She prayed for his sake he hadn't stood her up again, especially now that she needed his help more than anything. She couldn't believe Lucy had the nerve to just up and leave her, after she promised to help her. Now she was forced to rely on someone who already proved he was unreliable when he didn't even bother to show up at the Lockwood party.<p>

"Someone looks upset." His voice was smooth as velvet in her ear. She turned around find a pair of icy blue eyes, almost as captivating as Damon's. He was a handsome young guy; his sweet boyish looks were a stark contrast to his ruthless reputation. She had only met Niklaus twice at a few parties but if a fraction of the things she's heard about him were true, she knew he was the guy she needed on her side. He already proved how efficient he was when she asked for a favor a few weeks back. He was the guy that would help her get things done, and she wouldn't have to worry about petty things like remorse getting in the way.

"I thought you stood me up, like the last time." She said coolly.

"Sorry about that sweetheart. But business comes before pleasure." He whispered in her ear, before grabbing a bar stool and sitting beside her.

"Well this is strictly business, "she shot back. "Did you forget?"

"Oh? And what business would that be?"

She looked around suspiciously, at the many patrons at the bar guzzling beers and yelling obnoxiously at the some football game that played on the many flat screen TV's that hung against the walls. Katherine had no clue why of all places, Klaus chose to meet here. Not only were they out in the open, but anyone could overhear their conversations.

"Are you sure this is the best place to do this?" She asked agitation clear in her voice.

"I own this place; I'd like to think I can do business here if it pleases me." He gave her his toothy grin, and she felt like an idiot for not catching on sooner. Of course like a true mobster he used the grill and his numerous other businesses to cover his tracks.

"We didn't have time to discuss the details; we were supposed to do that at the party. You'd know what I'm talking about, if you actually showed up." She hissed. She was beyond annoyed at his absence. It was because of his failure to appear that she ended taking matters into her hands, and now things were worst because of it.

"Well I'm here now and I'm all ears. What can I do for you this time Miss Katherine?" he asked fingering one of her curls flirtatiously.

"I need you to get rid of someone else." She whispered, yanking the strand of hair from his grasp. She looked around to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation.

"Oh? Someone else? You sure have a lot of people you want to get rid of these days." He commented.

"Permanently this time." She spoke softly with darkness clouding her eyes.

"Permanently huh? You know that comes with a hefty, hefty price." He warned, "And besides whom on Earth would a beautiful woman like you need to get rid of permanently?"

Katherine ignored his flirtatious tone, she wasn't there to make small talk; this was strictly business. "Whatever the price, just name it." She challenged. Money was nothing to her, and it sure as hell wouldn't be the thing that kept her from getting what she wanted.

"Name your target." He told her, he had evil glint in his eyes that caused a chill to run right through her spine. She knew he'd be perfect for the job, she needed someone remorseless and Klaus was her man.

"Well first you have to make sure there's no way this will ever be traced back to me; I'm already in enough trouble."

"Miss Katherine, I assure you this will be handled in the most professional way. My men do this for a living; I've never had a single complaint."

She knew he wasn't lying. Niklaus Mikelson was a notorious mobster in the tiny town of Mystic Falls, and she was very much satisfied with the previous job he'd done for her. Everyone knew how lethal he was, but no one could prove it, he was just that good.

"Besides before I order any hits on anyone, we have to do our research. Get a feel for our target, their habits, places they frequent among other things. This could take weeks, maybe a month"

Katherine huffed in annoyance. She hoped as soon as she scribbled the name down on paper, she'd be told the deed was done. Learning that she'd have to wait up to an entire month made her grind her teeth in sheer frustration. It hadn't taken them nearly as long the last time she asked for a favor, but then again this was an entire different matter all together. Anyway, it would all be worth it in the end, she told herself. Klaus was her best bet anyhow, the last time she hired an amateur, she almost got Damon killed in the process. She told herself she would wait forever to watch Elena pay for everything she'd done to her, from stealing Damon right down to the sucker punch she landed on her face that night at the Lockwood party.

Klaus slid her a piece blank sheet of paper, and she already knew what to do. In a blink of an eye she jotted down the name in her most legible handwriting. _Elena Gilbert._

"Anything else I should know?" Klaus raised in eyebrow questioningly.

"She's pregnant." Katherine blurted. If she was going to pay Klaus to do the job, she needed to know that he could get it done. The last thing she wanted was for someone to flake out upon realizing that Elena was with child.

"That's gonna cost you more." Klaus answered in complete indifference. "Believe it or not my men don't like to hurt children, and a pregnant woman is pretty damn close. We need a little more compensation for the moral toll it'll take on their souls."

"Yeah, their poor souls." Katherine repeated sarcastically. She knew he was only using this as a means to get more money out of her, but she didn't care, she'd give him every dime in her name if it would make Elena disappear.

"It looks like we have a deal Miss Pierce. We should be in touch every step of the way." He smiled, as she took out her checkbook and made out a fifteen thousand dollar check in his name. She handed him the check and the paper with Elena's name written on it and didn't say another word as she walked out of the bar.

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><p>Damon pulled into his drive way from another exhausting four hours of work. It was becoming more and more apparent to him that small town law wasn't as easy as it appeared. He was used to the corporate stuff back in New York City, it wasn't as personal and he was good at it. Working in Mystic Falls was a different ball game, and he was still adjusting to it. The cases were far more personal, and no matter how hard he tried not to let his personal feelings get in the way of things, he could never quite manage it.<p>

How could he not take it personal when he had parents reduced to tears in his office because their son had been paralyzed in a hockey game due to the school's negligence? Soon he'd have a son of his own, and he couldn't help but put himself in their shoes. Damon wasn't sure if this was good or bad as far as his career as a lawyer went. Most bizarre thing is he couldn't understand how his father of all people was so good at such a job that required him to relate to other people on such an intimate level, while he appeared to have no care in the world for his own family. He figured perhaps all of his father's compassion and care went to his clients and by the time he got home, he had no more to give.

His thoughts immediately went to Elena as soon as the front door came into view, and despite his somber day at work he found that his mind often wandered into Elena territory. When he wasn't calling to check up on her, he was wondering what she was doing at any given second, how she was, whether or not her back ached, did she need him to come home? It was pretty pathetic as far as he was concerned, but came to accept the fact that it probably would never change.

He heard the sound of giggling coming from the living room the moment he walked through the door. He noticed a red sedan parked outside of their gate, and he figured Elena had company over. What he didn't expect was to find her on the receiving end of a foot rub by some guy he didn't recognize. Damon hadn't felt jealousy since his days of being Katherine's personal love sick bitch, so he was instantly reminded of how much he didn't like the feeling.

He cleared his throat and Elena's eyes flew up in his direction. She pulled her feet away from her guest, walked over to greet him with a soft kiss. "I didn't hear you come in."

"I imagine you didn't." He answered not even attempting to mask the jealousy; he wondered how long it would take her to introduce him to her boy toy who sat on the couch observing them.

"Are you jealous?" Elena fought to hide her laughter. She instantly remembered that Damon had no idea what Jeremy looked like, and she imagined how confused he must have been to walk in on them.

"Damon, this is Jeremy. As in my _brother_ Jeremy." She stated with emphasis. "And Jer, this is Damon."

The two men shook hands, and Damon felt like a complete idiot. His face must have been the color of a tomato.

"Nice to meet you Jeremy, Elena's told me about you." He managed to say, before internally cursing himself. He should have known he was her brother, now that his mind wasn't clouded with jealousy he could clearly see the resemblance between them.

Jeremy smiled politely and gave him a slight nod. "It's nice to meet you too."

"I'll let the two of you catch up. I'll be in my office if you need anything Elena." Damon said before landing a gentle kiss on her lips.

"No!" Elena whined in protest. "I was gonna make lunch so that the two of you could get to know each other. Then I thought the three of us could have lunch together." She gave him a slight pout and forced him to look into her pleading eyes.

"You think you're so good. Huh?" He laughed at her obvious manipulation.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"Don't what me Gilbert, I'm onto you." No actually, it was more like she was onto him. She'd figured out how pathetic he was and now she'd make him properly pay for it. How could he deny her anything when she looked at him with those sparkling brown eyes?

"Fine, we can have lunch." He agreed.

"You don't know how happy this makes me." She snaked her arms around his neck, standing on the tip of her toes, she brushed her lips gently against his. He brought his as far as it would go around her waist, leaning in to deepen the kiss.

Damon's mind immediately recalled the previous night, the way her body felt pressed against his. That morning, waking up to her sleeping peacefully by his side, she looked so beautiful, so peaceful and instantly he knew he wanted to wake up next to her like that every morning. Without waking her, he pressed a kiss to her belly before planting one on her forehead, before leaving for work that morning.

Jeremy cleared his throat and he was taken right out of his thoughts. He always seemed to get lost in them whenever they were about her. Stefan had caught him daydreaming in his office more than once that day. He couldn't help it, after the night they shared. Little else seemed to be relevant to him besides Elena.

Damon realized this day was the happiest he's seen her as well. He couldn't decide if it was because of him, or the fact that she'd just been reunited with her brother after so long. But one thing he knew for sure, he'd work his ass off to see that smile on her face every moment they spent together.

After seconds of getting to know the kid, Damon decided he wasn't so bad. If there's one thing he hated, it's being set up on blind play dates, but Jeremy surprised him. They discussed everything from the weather to sports and movies, and Damon thought he seemed like an easy going kid. Most importantly he saw how much he cared about his sister, and he was instantly relieved. He knew all about long lost relatives who just happen to resurface out of nowhere, he could usually spot their intentions a mile away, and the last thing Elena needed was some long lost brother who wanted to take advantage of her. He took comfort in the fact that Jeremy seemed to only be concerned about his sister's well being.

Elena called them into the kitchen where the three of them sat and had lunch. Jeremy told some rather interesting stories from his sisters past. The two guys laughed as Elena shrieked in horror when Jeremy told him about the time Elena was caught stuffing her bra in the seventh grade. Damon was mesmerized at the woman who sat across the table from him. She was gorgeous, glowing, and more importantly she was laughing for the first time in weeks.

He could have sat there staring her all day if he wasn't interrupted by the loud ringing of his phone. He looked at the caller ID and he didn't recognize the number. He answered anyway, figuring it might be one of his clients.

"Hello Damon Salvatore speaking."

"_Yes Mr. Salvatore, this is detective Ross from the NYPD speaking."_

"Is there something I can help you with detective?" Damon asked. He could see Elena's smile fade instantly the moment the words left his mouth.

"_Yes we need your cooperation on a missing person's case we're working on." _

"Uh, Okay sure."

"_A woman by the name of Isobel Pierce, are you familiar with her?"_ The voice through the phone asked.

"No, I'm not familiar with her… Oh wait maybe. Why? What's going on?" He didn't understand what was happening. The name sounded familiar, the woman had the same last name as Katherine, but he'd never met her before.

"_When we checked her phone records it appeared you were one of the last people she had contact with before she was reported missing."_

Damon recalled the conversation he had with the woman who declared she was Katherine's mother. He thought it was suspicious that he never heard from her again, especially after she claimed to be on her way to deal with her daughters "illness." Now he's being informed that she just disappeared off the face of the Earth, and he couldn't help the knot that formed in the pit of his stomach.

He gave the detectives the little information he had about Isobel Pierce, including how to reach her daughter, and when he hung up the phone. Elena's eyes were wide with curiosity.

"That was a detective." He began. "Apparently the woman who called the other day about Katherine, she's gone missing."

Damon knew fear when he saw it, and it was all over Elena's face. The worst part was he couldn't find any words to comfort her considering the feeling that was gnawing at the pit of his stomach.

They sat in silence for a few moments soaking in the bit of information, as Damon contemplated his next move. He could no longer sit still and watch these mysterious things happen around them without any explanation. He needed answers if he was ever going to be able to protect Elena and his unborn son, and he knew just where he'd have to go to get those answers. He stood up abruptly from the kitchen table grabbing his coat, with Elena hot on his trail.

"Where are you going, Damon?" Of course she knew the answer to that, but a part of her hoped that he had more sense than to go confronting his certified insane ex-girlfriend.

"I have to speak to her," he stated simply.

"She could hurt you. " Her voice was desperate and pleading for him to listen, but he was having none of it.

"I'll be fine." With that he shut the door behind him, before Elena could get another word out. It was time he found out once and for all what the hell Katherine was up to.

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><p><strong>Thanks so much for reading guys. Leave a review and let me know what you think :)<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! Thanks for reading and reviewing the last chapter. I appreciate the feedback. I'm so glad I was able to update this chapter much sooner than the last few others. Luckily I don't have too many real life distractions at the moment, so it's great to be able to focus on updating this story. **

**Anyway I hope you enjoy the chapter. Thanks for reading**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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><p>Elena looked up at the clock worriedly, for the third time in what felt like hours, but in reality had only been about four minutes. It had been over an hour since Damon left for Katherine's, and she hadn't heard from him since. Picking up her phone, she dialed his number for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes; still her call went straight to his voice mail.<p>

_You've reached Damon. You know what to do._

She let herself fall back against the plush sofa with an exasperated sigh. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her mind from thinking of the worst case scenarios. She half convinced herself that Damon was tied up, and lying unconscious in Katherine's closet.

"I'm sure he's fine, Elena." She heard Jeremy whisper, as he dropped himself beside her on the couch.

"You don't know her," her soft voice was barely audible as she tapped her foot nervously against the laminate floors.

"I just think Damon looks like he can handle himself," her brother offered. He gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze, before reaching down grab her hand. "Besides, stressing out isn't good for you." His face scrunched up in worry, feeling the slight trembling of her hand in his. "Elena seriously, you need to calm down."

She nodded in agreement; bring her free hand to rub her temples, wishing it as easy as it sounded. Her brother was right, she needed to calm down, the last time she was that stressed out, she woke up in an ice box of a room, bright lights shining in her eyes, and two strangers standing over her. The last thing she wanted was another trip to the emergency room. Inhaling deeply, she brought her hand down to rest gently against her stomach. _I'm sorry sweetie, but daddy's being an impulsive ass, _she thought annoyingly as she rubbed soothing strokes against her stomach.

"How about I make you something to drink?" Jeremy was on his feet instantly, a reassuring smile on his face. "Tea or hot chocolate?"

"I'll have some tea, it's in the cabinet above the sink" Even the smallest amount of caffeine would only exacerbate her stress level. Yes, tea would be great, it would calm her down, help her clear her head, eliminating all these ludicrous thoughts from her mind. Who was she kidding? Not even all the tea in the world would ease her restless mind; nothing would, except the sight of Damon walking through the front door in one piece. _God, Damon where are you?_ She yelled internally as if he'd somehow hear her.

Her stomach did flips as she recalled her own encounter with the infamous Katherine Pierce. That night was forever engraved in her memory; she'd never felt such crippling fear in her entire existence. The wild look on the woman's face as she held her by her throat, slamming her against the hard tiled walls, haunted her subconscious, causing her to shiver in trepidation. It was a miracle she survive that confrontation without a spine injury.

Fifteen minutes later Jeremy strolled into the living room with a steaming hot mug of her favorite chamomile tea.

"Here," he said placing the hot mug in her hands. "Try to relax Lena."

She silently thanked him with a nod of her head, blowing her breath over the hot beverage before taking a tiny sip. Surprisingly she felt herself relax slightly as the warm liquid made its way down her throat. She could taste a hint of honey and lemon which made her smile up at Jeremy, pleased that despite so much time spent apart, he still remembered how she loved her tea.

"So you and Damon, I think the two of you are more serious than you've let on."

Elena was forced out of her thoughts, throwing her brother a questioning glance. "How do you mean?"

"I mean it seems like you two are pretty serious, look how afraid you are for him." Elena scoffed not knowing how to reply to her brothers inquiring observations.

"It's easy to panic for anyone when they're alone with Katherine," she said avoiding eye contact. It was true, the woman was a lunatic. She'd be frightened for anyone who had the misfortune of crossing paths with her. Of course Damon was also the father to her son, her baby would need him, and so what if she panicked a little at the thought of him being hurt, it didn't mean she was in love with him or anything did it?

"Elena…" He gave her a knowing look that said he knew better, and she'd better start coming clean.

"Jer, what do you want me to say?" She asked, eyes wide, the last person she wanted to have this conversation with was her baby brother. They weren't supposed to talk about these things, her job was to look after him, and his was to make her job impossible. They perfected those roles once upon a time, and at that precise moment she'd do anything to revert back to that, if only to avoid this conversation he seemed so intent on having with her.

"I just want you to be honest with me," he replied sincerely.

Sighing deeply, and running a hand through her messy locks, she glanced at the earnest expression on her brother's face. She placed the still piping hot mug of tea on the coffee table in front of them. "Fine, yes Jer I guess I might feel a lot more than I may be ready to admit."

A knowing smile crept on his face. "I figured as much." He laughed, obviously thoroughly amused, already having known the answer all along.

Elena rolled her eyes, and slapped him playfully on the arm. "But you just had to hear me say it!"

She looked down at her idle hands nervously. "Anyway, it doesn't matter how I feel, if he doesn't feel the same." Sure she knew Damon had feelings for her, maybe even a lot. He made that much clear by the way he cared for her, the way he stepped up and went above and beyond to accommodate her and their unborn son. But did were his feelings even as remotely intense as hers? How could she be sure? It frightened her more than anything she'd ever felt.

"I've seen the way that guy has looked at you; if that's not love I don't think I've ever known it."

"Well maybe you've never known it." She teased, "You're what? Twenty-one?"

"Twenty-two." He corrected in mock offense. "Seriously Lena, he almost lost his shit before you told him I was your brother." He laughed as he recalled Damon's face when he walked through the front door. It was almost as if someone punched him square in the face.

Elena laughed, also remembering Damon looking quite offended that she was receiving a foot rub from a man that wasn't him. God, why was everything was so backwards with them? They could kiss, and sleep together, hell even planned to raise a baby together, but talking about their feelings? For some reason, that seemed to be out of the question.

He was clearly jealous even at the idea of her with someone else, and if she was being honest part of the reason she felt uneasy about him being at Katherine's was because of their history. The rational part of her brain told her that Damon wouldn't want anything to do with that woman after the crap she's pulled, but there was still that teeny irrational part of her mind that almost had her convinced he'd come back home and tell her he and Katherine were reuniting. _Don't be stupid, _she chided herself. _Of course he wouldn't, would he?_

She reached for her mug of tea, which had cooled down considerably since her last sip, hoping that it'd help her to relax again as she found herself getting more worked up than she'd been before.

"I think you should talk to him, tell him how you feel." Jeremy urged, and she practically choked on the warm beverage, in the most dramatic fashion, coughing and wheezing, and spilling tea all over her lavender sundress. Silently she thanked god, the tea was cooler now; surely she'd have burns if this had happened a few minutes earlier. Instantly she felt her brother's hand rubbing gentle strokes against her back, whilst laughing at her overreaction.

"It was only a suggestion, sheesh." He teased, throwing his hands up in surrender. "Why are you so afraid of telling him the truth?"

"The truth will only complicate things Jer." She looked clearly agitated. "If it doesn't work out, or if he really doesn't feel the same it could be disastrous, and we have a baby to think about here."

"And what you're doing now doesn't have the potential to blow up in your faces?" He asked, "I mean look Elena, you guys are already together, just because you don't make it official, or you don't say 'I love you' doesn't make it somehow void, or less serious. Actually I think you're risking more now than you'd be if you'd just tell each other the truth. "

"Since when did you become so wise?" She looked at him both proud at how much he's matured, and even more irritated at how right he was. "Why does it matter so much to you that I tell him anyway?"

"I know you Elena," he spoke softly "and you never let yourself be happy. This is the closest I've seen you come to it in a long time, and I just really want that for you." He gave her shoulder one more affectionate squeeze, before pulling her in for a hug.

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><p>Damon pulled up to the parking lot of his old apartment. It wasn't the most upscale place, but it was in a decent part of town. When he first moved to Mystic Falls he didn't plan on staying long, just long enough to get his mother on board with moving to New York, and deal with his father's law firm, so he hadn't felt the need to get a luxurious place. The place had the most basic necessities, a bed, roof, running water, electricity and a swimming pool for those sweltering southern heat waves. He was a simple man, he didn't need anything fancy.<p>

When Katherine informed him that she'd moved into the exact same apartment, apart from the feeling of unease that settled in his chest, there was the certainty that she wouldn't last a day there. It was nothing like what she was used to in New York. There were no fancy Jacuzzi's and expensive spas, not even a five star restaurant within a fifty mile radius. But now it had been months and somehow she had managed, he didn't know what to make of it.

He walked up to the door, both dreading and eager to get this all over it. He let his hand fall against the door, knocking three times before listening for a response. Nothing. Instead he heard blaring music coming from inside the small apartment. He brought his hand to knock again, harder this time, and the door creaked open slightly. Poking his head in slightly through the tiny opened crevice, the stench of cigarettes and alcohol almost caused his eyes to water.

"Katherine!" he yelled through the small crack of the door. Still Nothing. He widened the opening of the door and stepped inside, only for the overwhelming odor to fill his nostrils. He looked around and the place was beyond unrecognizable, but so very Katherine.

Everything was overdone, from the hot pink walls to the various animal prints that covered almost every surface in the living room. The living room, or what was left of it, he couldn't really make out anything underneath all the beer bottles, cigarette butts, and a few other things he wish he hadn't seen. Maybe she wasn't adjusting as well as he thought, with no maid service around to clean up after her, it was no wonder the place closely resembled a city dump.

"Katherine!" He yelled once more taking a step towards the hallway, the music grew louder the further he entered the apartment; some cheesy pop song that he was sure would have his ears bleeding at any moment. Katherine always had horrible taste in music, he recalled. There was another sound coming from what used to be his bedroom, and before the sick realization hit him that she obviously had company of the opposite sex, he had already knocked on the wooden door.

Almost instantly she stepped out of the bedroom not even bothering to put on a robe. The smell of sex wafted out of the room mixing with the stench of alcohol and cigarettes.

"Damon." she whispered breathlessly. "What a pleasant surprise."

Standing there frozen in place, his mind couldn't even form coherent thoughts. He should leave, come back another time, when she wasn't so obviously _pre-occupied_. No, no he couldn't leave, this was important, she needed to hear him out, and he needed some answers.

"Do you mind putting something on Katherine; I'd like to have a word with you." He requested, trying not to be distracted by how disproportional her body was now that she'd gone and gotten yet another boob job.

"We're a little busy in here," she breathed. Her eyes were blood shot red, speech was slurred, and everything about her was just off. "You can join us," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at him and the thought made him want to hurl. "Or you can wait out here, we shouldn't be much longer." She winked at him before slamming the door in his face.

He pulled out his phone to glance at the time. _Dead._ He sighed frustratingly before shoving the tiny device back into his pocket, deciding to stand against the wall instead of taking a seat among the garbage that filled the room.

What felt like hours later Katherine finally emerged from the room, her lover trailing close behind her. She kissed him sloppily on the lips sticking her tongue far down his throat before flashing him a seductive grin. Damon supposed she orchestrated the whole exchange in hopes of pissing him off or maybe making him jealous, but all he felt was disgust.

As soon as she shut the door behind him, it was time to get down to business. "I want this to be brief and to the point."

"What can I do for you, Damon?" She was standing way to close for his comfort; her hand was resting on her hip, her leg slanted in an obvious effort to give him a peak underneath her robe.

Damon examined her intently. Her entire body was flushed pink, sweat dripped from her face profusely despite the cool air in the room. He noticed her red eyes the moment she opened the door, she looked like hell. Katherine may have been a lot of things, but he never knew her to be careless about her appearance. It was possibly the only thing she ever cared about when they were together; it wasn't like her to let herself go like that.

"Are you drunk?" He inquired. There would be no point in getting into a serious conversation with her if she wasn't even sober.

"I'm fine." She stated as she struggled to stand up right. Her hair was matted to her forehead, her eyes unfocused, and she was breathing unusually heavy.

Noticing her discomfort he reached out to steady her only to have his hand harshly smacked away.

"I said I'm fine." She snapped defensively.

"Okay," he surrendered throwing his hands up. He realized how long it'd been since he last seen her, and the mysterious woman's words echoed in his head.

_Katherine is ill._

She most certainly was, that much Damon could surely observe. She looked thoroughly exhausted, and he assumed it wasn't just from her tryst with the mysterious guy who walked out of her apartment just minutes ago. Damon observed her even more closely, she'd lost so much weight since the time she'd come to see him while he was recovering from his gun-shot wound. He knew he shouldn't care what was going on with her, but something was definitely wrong, and as much as he wanted nothing to do with the woman in front of him, some small pathetic part of him maybe still wanted to help her.

"You had something to tell me?" she breathed, fingering the tie around his neck seductively. "I have to say, I didn't expect to see you here. "

"Yeah… about that." He yanked himself away from her questing hands abruptly. "Is everything alright with you Katherine?"

Damon almost wished he could take the words back as the rage flashed in her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'M FINE." She screamed.

"Okay… Okay... I hear you." He relented.

"What are you doing here Damon?" She inquired, giving him a suspicious look. "Tired of your girlfriend already?" She taunted. "I knew you'd get over her soon enough, she's just not your type."

He gave her a look of exasperation, he just wanted some answers, and her immature remarks about Elena were only serving to piss him off, especially now that he was seeing flashbacks of him finding Elena lying unconscious and bleeding on the bathroom floor. It took major effort to swallow down the vehement rage that threatened to bubble over the surface.

"Can we please leave Elena out of this for once?" His voice was controlled, yet still not enough to hide the obvious contempt. "How could you be so blasé after everything you've done?" He asked in pure repulsion. "God Katherine you're just the lowest kind of person there is."

Katherine rolled her eyes dramatically. "Fine, believe me the last thing I want is to talk about _her._"

"Then don't." He snapped, and the look of amusement on her face, made him shake his head in disbelief, wanting to forget the whole thing and walk right out of her tasteless excuse for an apartment.

"Do you know a woman by the name of Isobel Pierce?" He asked instead, deciding to stick to his original plan. _Answers, you need answers Damon._

"As in the woman who calls herself my mother, Isobel?" On her face was a look of completely indifference. "Why what about her?"

"I got a phone-call from a detective, who said she was missing."

"And why would they call you? What relationship do you have with my mother?" she was eyeing him fixedly, waiting for his reply.

Damon wasn't sure how to answer that without somehow tipping her off to what he knew. He was however taken aback by her lack of reaction to the news of her mother's disappearance; instead she was asking him questions that should be completely irrelevant to a distressed daughter, who'd just learned that her mother was missing. "Did you know she was missing?" he asked in an effort to turn the suspicion away from himself.

"No… No I had no clue." She stuttered. There still wasn't an ounce of worry or panic in her face. "Who's to say she's missing anyway, the woman never stays in one place."

"I'm sure whoever's close to her, must have realized something was wrong…. and you're sure you didn't know about this?" It was hard to believe that no one in her family contacted her about her mother's sudden disappearance. Something wasn't right, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"No, "she answered shortly turning away from him completely. Damon swore she was avoiding eye contact.

"So what are you going to do?" he asked curiously, assuming she actually cared even a little, if she wasn't somehow involved.

"Do I look like the police Damon?" She snapped.

"No I guess not." He replied in defeat, it was obvious that Katherine wasn't about to give up whatever she knew, and he had no desire to stand in her presence any longer than it was necessary. He'd just have to find another way to get the information he needed. "I'll be getting out of here." He started to walk away before he felt her grab his forearm.

"You didn't tell me why the police contacted _you_ of all people." she eyed him skeptically.

_Shit._ He needed to tell her _something._ Anything other than _your mom was afraid you'd gone off your crazy pills and called me in hopes of tracking you down._ "She said she hadn't heard from you in a while, and wanted to see if I had any idea where she could reach you, I guess they found my number in her phone" he explained instead, giving her his best poker face.

"Yeah well if I wanted to get in contact with her I would've called." The brunette answered coldly. "And you're sure that's all she said?" The distrustful look on her face said she didn't completely believe him, but Damon knew she had no proof of otherwise.

"That's all." He managed to say, not giving her a chance to respond before walking away.

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><p>At the sound of his car pulling up in the driveway, Elena finally allowed herself to exhale. After the initial feeling of relief settled, she felt the anger starting to slowly seep in. <em>God, he could be such an inconsiderate asshole,<em> she thought as she scrubbed the pan harder and harder until she was almost sure her hands would start bleeding. She must have called him twenty times, frantic and worried that maniacal ex-girlfriend of his had buried him alive. Yet he was perfectly fine, probably not a scratch on his body and he couldn't even bother to answer his phone.

Once the front door swung open she could hear him calling out her name. "Elena!" She decided she'd give him a taste of his own medicine, not even bothering to answer him.

He got to the kitchen where she stood loading the dishwasher, and she decided to continue ignoring him, even as she felt the heat radiating from his body just centimeters behind her.

"Is there a reason why I'm getting the silent treatment, or this just another Tuesday night?" He joked as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, feeling her tense up and her sharp intake of breath.

"I'm glad you find this so hilarious, Damon." Elena was already finding hard to hold onto her anger, especially having him so close. God, her body was such a traitor, and she had a sneaking suspicion that Damon was aware of it.

"What's the matter?" He whispered, his lips were so close to her ear, she felt a herself shiver just a little. Soon those lips were trailing kisses down the nape of her neck, and she felt a chill run through her. Pulling herself away rapidly, she turned to face him. She wasn't about to let him get off that easy. Damon was used to using his charm to distract women, and she wasn't about to fall victim to it. At least not tonight.

"I called you like fifty times today Damon, I was worried sick." She finally said in agitation. "I thought something happened to you." Her eyes softened at the last part and he could see the panic in her face.

Damon felt like a complete idiot. Of course she would have been worried, he felt like a tool for not even considering it, not to mention guilty for being the source of her stress, once again.

"I'm sorry Elena, my phone died, and I guess I just didn't think." He pulled out his phone to show her, and he saw her expression soften considerably from the angry look she wore when she turned to face him, but she was still pouting slightly.

"Come on, you're not still mad at me are you?" he teased, mimicking her pout, and bringing his hand down rub slow circles against her stomach.

"Don't touch me." She complained, rolling her eyes and willing herself not to laugh.

"Technically I'm not touching you, I'm touching my son." He argued playfully.

"Well he's not officially yours until he's out of me."

"I want you to remember that Gilbert." He warned jokingly. "The next time he's beating you up I won't be there to bail you out."

She shook her head as her lips finally curled up into a smile. It was the damndest thing, and she'd yet to find an explanation for it. Every time the baby got restless all Damon had to do was rub small circles against her stomach and he was calm in no time. Elena tried it numerous times whenever Damon wasn't home but it was pointless. There had to be some kind of technique to it, she thought and she'd study Damon's hands, but she never figured it out.

"So what happened with Katherine?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, moving on to more important matters.

"Let's just say she didn't seem all that concerned with her mom disappearing." He answered. "Something's going on there Elena; I just don't know what it is."

"You think she had something to do with it?"

"Yeah." He nodded slowly. "I just don't know how to prove it."

Elena ran a hand frustratingly through her hair, taking a deep breath. "So what does this even mean?"

"It means I have to figure it out." He said with a kind of determination she'd never seen before.

"No, Damon you can't get involved!" she protested worriedly.

"Katherine's completely lost it, and after what she's done to you, I'd be a fool not to look into whatever she's up to." He reasoned. "I'm not just gonna sit here and wait until she harms you again." He cupped her face affectionately in hands, his ocean blue eyes locking with her brown ones.

"Who's to say she will?" Elena asked. "And besides I can take care of myself." She said stubbornly. "I don't need you going out and getting yourself hurt trying to protect me."

"I'm not gonna let her hurt you or my son again." Damon said definitively, and Elena knew it was pointless to argue further.

"Where'd Jeremy go?" He looked around and noticed that Elena's brother was no longer in their home.

"He had a job interview at the grill." She informed him. "He's really trying to get his life together; he's going to school too. " She smiled, she was so proud of him. Before she'd always try to force him to do these things, but seeing her baby brother wanting to take responsibility for his own life, almost reduced her to tears.

"Well if it doesn't work out, or if he's looking for something else, you tell him to give me a call. I'm sure I can find something for him to do at the firm."

Elena took a good look at the man standing in front of her, asking herself how she got so lucky. Realization suddenly hit her the moment he uttered those words; she loved him. She was in love with Damon Salvatore. The irony of that situation wasn't lost on her. When she first moved back to Mystic Falls, she thought seeing Damon was just about the worst thing that could have ever happened to her. But now she couldn't imagine her life without him, she didn't even know how she ever thought she'd be able to move out. There's no way she'd be able to leave him.

"Thanks Damon, I'll let him know." She smiled sweetly at him.

"He's family, whatever I can do to help." He lean over and planted a gentle kiss on her lips.

"My mom invited us to dinner tonight, she's been complaining about how little she's seen of you." He rested his forehead against hers, brushing his thumb across her cheek.

"That was sweet of her." Elena really did enjoy Anetta's company, and she meant to make some time to spend with the older woman but with everything that's happened and the constant chaos that was her life, it seemed nearly impossible. A quiet evening surrounded by his family, was probably just what she needed.

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><p>They arrived at his mother's house at about six o'clock. Elena immediately loved the quaint and cozy feel of the house the moment Damon parked his car in the drive way. It was a more old fashion home then where they lived and just a little smaller as well. There was a garden adorned with many beautiful hydrangeas, tulips, and daffodils, and it made her think of her own mother.<p>

Once inside, the delicious aroma of freshly baked bread, among numerous other ambrosial smells attacked her nostrils. Her mouth watered slightly as they made their way towards the kitchen, where his mom stood stirring a pot over the stove.

Her blue eyes widened with excitement when she saw them. She dropped her wooden spoon on the counter and rushed over to squeeze Elena in a tight hug. "I'm so happy you guys made it." She said. "I was starting to think I'd have to give most of this food to the homeless shelter."

"I wouldn't miss this for anything in the world." Elena assured her.

"You're too sweet." The older woman complimented.

"Ahem." Damon cleared his throat. "Don't mind me; I'm just your first born son." He said in amusement, interrupting their hug fest.

She rolled her eyes, swatting him playfully on the arm. "Oh stop being a crybaby." Anetta kissed him on the cheek. "I've missed you pudding."

"You saw me just last week."

"Well that's a long time for a mother to go without seeing _her first born son_." She teased. "I hope you don't plan on keeping my grandson away from me that long." She looked fixedly at the both of them, as they both shook their heads in unison.

"Dinner's almost ready guys, Stefan will be here any minute." She informed them. "Why don't you show Elena around, in the meantime?"

When Damon turned around he could see Elena already engrossed in the pictures of him and Stefan that were displayed in his mother's living room. He stood behind her, watching her smile at the picture of them at his fifth birthday party. A smile formed on his own lips when he looked at it. In the picture he was smiling mischievously as he covered Stefan with birthday cake. Stefan was wearing his signature brood even at three years old and clearly not happy about having cake smeared on his face, and his mother stood behind them laughing at the entire thing.

"I see you were a trouble maker even back then." She shook her head, laughing at how the picture accurately captured both he and Stefan's personalities, even now as adults.

"If by trouble maker you mean awesome? Then yeah I guess you could say that. "

She picked up another frame; this one was a family portrait. The boys were a bit older; Damon looked about ten years old in it. In the picture he and Stefan stood in front of their mother, and an unknown man she assumed was their father. She could see the resemblance between Stefan and the older man; they had the same light brown hair and emerald green eyes.

"Was that your dad?" She asked almost somberly, aware of how sensitive he was about the topic.

"Yeah, that's dear old dad." He answered with a hint of bitterness; he couldn't even look at that picture. Even at ten years old he understood that they were just keeping up appearances, in reality they were nowhere close to being happy. Every night Stefan would crawl into his bed with him, tears staining his cheeks as Giuseppe hurled insults at their mother. But in the frame they were the picture of domestic bliss.

Squeezing his arm affectionately, she decided not to open that can of worms. He'd have to deal with his issues eventually, but it didn't have to be that night.

Minutes later Stefan finally arrived, with Bonnie following closely behind him looking like a nervous wreck. Elena assumed Stefan was finally going to introduce her to Anetta as his girlfriend, and she smiled at her friend reassuringly.

"She's gonna love you." Elena whispered to her, after hugging both her and Stefan.

"God I hope you're right." Bonnie laughed nervously.

"Just stay away from the wine if you want to make a good impression." Elena joked. She knew how Bonnie could get with alcohol when she was nervous.

"Not going near it," her friend laughed.

Anetta greeted Stefan and Bonnie with the same warmth and enthusiasm as she'd greeted her and Damon moments before. Elena was in awe of the older woman, despite everything Damon told her that they'd been through with his father; she was still this warm and caring soul. It was obvious how much she cherished both her sons and Elena found that admirable.

"It's nice to finally officially meet you Bonnie; Stefan can't stop talking about you."

"Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Salvatore." Bonnie answered relief soon flooded her face. She didn't know why she'd been so nervous before.

"Oh please child, call me Anetta." The woman hugged her tightly.

"It's nice to meet you Anetta."

Anetta called the boys inside to help her set the table, leaving Bonnie and Elena sitting in the cozy living room. The entire house had such a homely feel to it, which was a slight contrast to the modern feel of her own home. Mostly it caused a wave of nostalgia hit her as she was reminded of the home where she grew up.

"So I take it you've decided not to move out after all." Bonnie interrupted her thoughts in a low whisper.

"No, I'm not." Elena instantly felt bad for not informing her best friend earlier; she shot her an apologetic look. "But I haven't even told him yet."

"It's okay; I knew you weren't going to be able to go through with it." Bonnie said matter of factly.

Elena looked at her almost disbelievingly. "And let me guess you were just waiting around until I came to my senses?"

"I was waiting around for you to figure it out. "

"Figured what out exactly?" Elena raised her eyebrow in question.

"That you love him." Her best friend said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And don't even act it's not true Elena, we should be past that denial stage by now."

And she didn't deny it; she didn't utter a word for a while. "Funny thing is I realized it today." She finally spoke.

"Better late than never." Bonnie laughed affectionately. "Have you told him?"

Elena's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "I can't Bonnie; I'm not ready." Why was everyone just expecting her to walk up to Damon and express her undying love for him?

"Well take your time Elena; you don't have to tell him right away. But you don't want to wait too long either." Bonnie advised.

Elena nodded in understanding. "Thanks Bon."

"Anytime."

"Girls dinner's ready." They heard Mrs. Salvatore call out from the dining room, and they both followed the delectable aroma that lead them to the feast Anetta prepared for them.

The food looked even more mouth-watering than it smelled, and Elena could feel herself growing hungrier by the second. Her eyes widened at the amount of food on the table, there was everything from risotto, to penne pasta, creamy potato salad and a beautiful golden brown roast that she couldn't wait to dig her fork into.

She took a seat next to Damon, with Stefan and Bonnie sitting across from them, as Anetta took a seat at the end of the table. She watched as Damon started to dig his fork into the penne only to have his hand gently smacked away by his mother. "Nuh-uh, prayer first sweetie."

Elena nearly choked on her laughter as Damon said the fastest prayer she'd ever heard in her entire existence. The whole thing must have lasted a whole two seconds. The entire table erupted with laughter as his mother shook her head in amusement.

Soon everyone was digging in, and Elena realized that not even the smell or sight of the food did the taste any justice. She'd had Italian food before, and even made some herself, but nothing tasted better than something authentically made.

"This food is delicious." She complimented.

The older woman smiled warmly at her, before getting up to pile more of the potato salad on her plate. "You have to eat more than that Elena, remember you're eating for two now." The woman explained.

"Thanks." Elena laughed. Initially she was being polite by taking what she considered a reasonable amount of food, but she really didn't mind eating more, especially when the food was so good.

Damon laughed at her and she rolled her eyes, shoving him playfully.

Just when Elena thought she couldn't eat another bite, Anetta brought out her Tiramisu layer cake that had her mouth watering all over again. The whole thing looked scrumptious, it was covered in white cream frosting and delicious chocolate shavings adorned the top of it.

"This was Damon and Stefan's favorite dessert when they were little boys." She explained. "I used to make it around Christmas time, and they'd fight each other for the last piece." She recalled merrily.

"I can't say I'd blame them." Bonnie commented. "It looks absolutely delicious."

After dessert they spent a few moments catching up. Anetta asked about the incident with Katherine, and expressed her relief that Elena was okay, but they didn't spend too much time dwelling on such depressing topics. Instead Elena laughed as Stefan and Damon argued about who won some bet they made when they were kids, or who their mother loved more, as the older woman just shook her head dismissively at them, explaining that she didn't have any favorites.

When it was almost time to leave, she felt Anetta grab her hand gently leading her to the front porch ahead of Damon.

"We didn't really get a chance to talk in there with all the commotion." She said almost nervously. It was the first time Elena had seen her less than absolutely sure of herself all night.

"How are you?" Anetta asked, her face was full of genuine concern.

"I'm doing a lot better." Elena admitted.

"I'm glad." Anetta provided. "It's important you don't stress yourself out too much, especially so close to your due date," she rested her hand gently on Elena's stomach feeling the baby kick slightly.

"I know, but sometimes it's hard not to with everything going on."

"I just wanted you to know that I'm here for you, if you need _anything."_ The older woman stressed. "Even if you just need to talk, maybe I'll be able to give you some advice, if not I'll be happy to just listen, even if it's about Damon." And they both laughed at the last part.

"Trust me I know despite how much I love him, he can be quite stubborn." Anetta added, and Elena nodded her head in agreement. "But I know my son is a good man, and he has a big heart. That's how I raised him." She stated proudly.

"He is." Elena agreed. "I'm lucky to have him, we both are." She looked down at her protruding stomach and rubbed it gently.

"He's lucky to have you." Anetta stated, and Elena felt the tears well up in her eyes. It had been so long since she'd had a maternal presence in her life, and felt like she belonged somewhere. All that died right along with her parents that night on Wickery Bridge. Until this moment she'd almost forgotten what it was like to have someone around her who genuinely cared about her well being like a mother to a child. Anetta could see her tear up and enveloped her into another tight hug, rubbing her back gently.

"You're part of this family now Elena." She said that in her ear. "I'm so happy to have you."

"Thank you." She said gratefully wiping the tears away from her face, just as Damon appeared on the porch.

"Elena is everything okay?" His eyes filled with worry.

"She's fine." His mother said. "Those are happy tears."

She could see him visibly relax and she smiled at him reassuringly. "I'm okay."

Anetta kissed her son on the cheek and hugged him for what felt like eternity before reluctantly letting go. "I'll be by on Thursday after work, mom." He promised when he finally managed to get free.

The older woman gave Elena one last hug before they got in the car and headed home.

In the car Elena felt Damon reach for her hand as he steered with his left hand. "Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah, I needed that." She admitted. She loved being around him and his family, she felt like she belonged, both his mother and Stefan had been completely welcoming and supportive since the moment she'd met them, and she was grateful.

"Good. Glad you did." He smiled at her, taking his eyes off the road for a second.

Elena couldn't help but think about the conversations she had with Bonnie just moments ago and with Jeremy earlier that day. They both seemed to think telling him how she felt was the way to go and at this point she was starting to run out of excuses not to.

"Damon?"

"Hmm" he answered. Not taking his eyes off the road this time, his right hand still intertwined in hers.

"I... I'm not moving into Bonnie's anymore."

"I'm glad." He admitted, smiling sweetly and bringing her hand to his lips, placing a soft kiss against her knuckles.

"And Damon?" She took a deep breath, as her whole body tingled at the innocent gesture.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading. :) Please Leave a review! Let me know what you think!<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

*** Embarrassed* Who even knows how long it's been since I've updated this story? If there are still readers out there, I apologize for neglecting this story. Writers Block is something else I tell you. Anyway thanks so much for the support if you commented or reviewed, favorited it. It's greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoy this chapter as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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><p>Damon's foot slammed harshly on the breaks pulling the car over to the side of the road, before turning around to face her. Those big brown eyes stared back at him and there was something in them that he didn't recognize. A tender gaze that penetrated his very soul, leaving him feeling more than a little exposed. He felt her grip on his hand tighten, giving his a tight squeeze.<p>

"You… You don't have to say it back." She said. He could see the sadness in her eyes and it sliced right through his heart. "I just thought I'd let you know." She slowly slipped her hand out of his, placing them in her lap.

Until that moment he hadn't even been able to process what she'd just said, it's like his mind refused to acknowledge it after so many years of him desperately wanting those words from a woman who never uttered them. Did she just say she loved him? It wasn't possible, surely he'd heard wrong. The look in her bright eyes confirmed it; he assumed it's what love looked like in the eyes of a woman who wasn't his mother.

Once he shook of the initial shock, and the silly dazed expression left his face, he took her hand in his again, watching as her eyes travel from where their hands were once again intertwined to settle on his face.

"Say it again." He demanded his eyes captured her gaze now and he saw the confusion flickering beneath her eyes.

She shook her head slightly not quite understanding his request. "Damon, it's okay. I'll understand if you don't—"

"Just please, say it again," he cut in. He needed to hear it again, and this time he'd be prepared.

"Fine, I love you." She said in a slightly agitated tone throwing her hands up in defeat. "Are you happy?"

He chuckled a little at her irritation. Nothing was ever easy with them, why did he imagine this moment would be? Bringing his lips just inches from hers, he whispered "I love you too," and it surprised him that he actually meant it. He hadn't said those words to any woman since Katherine and the thought scared him more than a little. The last time he'd bared his soul to a woman, he paid a steep price, he was still paying for it considering Katherine continued to haunt him even long after he moved on.

But Elena was different; her eyes were warmer, her touch gentler, and the unmistakable look of love in her chocolate eyes made all the difference. Maybe their son wasn't a product of some drunken debauchery after all. Maybe it was all fate, he wasn't sure he believed in it until that moment. What were the odds of him falling in love with one of many women he never planned to see again? How could he have ever expected her to be bearing his child or that they'd meet again in the one place he never dreamed he'd be? Yet somehow after everything he'd gone through with Elena Mystic Falls felt more like home to him than anywhere else. Any place would be home as long as she was there, and as long as his son came into the world.

"Do you mean it?" her voice sounded uncertain, shaky and even a little hopeful as her eyes searched his.

"I love you." He repeated with more conviction and certainty this time leaving no room for any doubts she may have. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

"I love you too." Elena responded for the third time that night. Her eyes were getting misty and she let out a breath she wasn't even aware that she was holding. Damon loved her and she loved him, it almost felt strange to have their feelings out in the open like that but it was the best kind of relief.

She never felt more grateful to Bonnie and Jeremy for urging her to come clean as she felt him wrap his arms around her. Inhaling his sweet masculine scent, she buried her face into his neck, placing light kisses just above his collarbone. She heard him inhale sharply before his mouth found hers, his tongue demanding entrance into hers. Something about the way he kissed her erased any doubt in her mind that he was in love with her. Elena found herself leaning into their kiss, her body gravitating towards his despite the limited space in the car, but when she felt his fingers slide under the hem of her dress, she reluctantly and painfully tore herself away from his embrace.

"Damon, we could get arrested for this." She whispered. A red blush stained her cheeks, as she tried to get her heart rate to slow down. They were parked on the side of the road, with cars briskly driving by.

Damon let out a groan and gave her his best pout, but even with the smile tugging at the corners of her lips, it did very little to sway her.

"You're the lawyer, you should know better." She playfully chastised.

"You started this with your love declarations." He teased.

"Shut up and drive." Elena's eyes widened as she shook her head. Leave it to Damon to turn such a sweet and tender moment into one of their little immature spats.

The drive back home was oddly quiet, but it was a comfortable silence, with Damon stealing glances at her whenever his eyes weren't glued to the road. He almost couldn't believe the words they exchanged just moments ago, he found himself wondering if he didn't just imagine the whole thing. Did she really say she loved him? Even more unbelievable was the fact that he said it back and actually meant it. He was in love with Elena Gilbert.

After Katherine he swore he'd never be careless enough to open himself up to the possibility of being used and hurt again, but dammit If Elena didn't have him fantasizing about living some cookie cutter life with her and their son. Maybe they'd have another child later on, perhaps a little girl who'd have her big brown eyes and have him wrapped around her little finger. He smiled faintly at the thought of them building a family together. Less than a year ago he'd laugh at such notions, but these days those thoughts occupied his mind more and more until it was all he could think about.

But still it's not like he had a clue about any of this fatherhood stuff anyway. With Giuseppe having been absent for most of his childhood, his biggest fear was repeating those same mistakes. He wanted to be the best father that little boy could ask for but still no amount of reassurance from the amazing woman next to him could ease his worries.

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><p>The sun shone so brightly early that morning, but looking outside her living room window all Elena could see were the dark clouds that seemed to hover right above their home. The raging winds shook the trees violently and soon huge droplets of rain splattered across the window where she stood. A dreadful feeling came over her as she looked out towards the empty driveway. Damon was usually back from work by noon but three o'clock was fast approaching and he hadn't made it home yet. She'd received nothing but a vague text that something extremely important came up and he'd fill her in on the details when he got home. Whenever that was.<p>

Elena took a deep breath. She still hated storms. It was one of those things she found impossible to outgrow. As a little girl she'd run into her parents' bedroom in the middle of the night whenever she heard the thunderous sounds from the storm. Her dad would pick her up and slide her right in between him and her mother and instantly she'd feel comforted. When she got older she'd quietly slip next door to Jeremy's room throwing her comforter and pillow on the ground and falling asleep beside his bed.

Now she was standing alone in the middle of her own home and she was reminded of why she hated storms. They brought a sense of dread that gnawed at her subconscious, eating away at any rational thought in her mind and filling her with apprehension.

The night her parents slid off the road and over Wickery Bridge there was a record breaking storm, almost identical to the one happening outside the walls of her home. Trees were nearly uprooted from the ground, the entire town was flooded and Miranda and Grayson Gilbert just happened to be one of the many casualties of that unfortunate day.

In a desperate attempt to pull herself out the dreary funk she walked away from the window heading to the one place in the entire house that always seemed to lift her spirits. Climbing up the stairs proved to be a feat within itself now that she was only weeks away from her due date, but it was worth it when she reached the top of the stairs and pushed the door open to reveal the baby's nursery.

Even as bright flashes of lightening split the skies outside and the wind roared she felt oddly at peace. Taking a seat in the wooden rocking chair in the corner she looked around, inspecting the room for any signs of imperfection. From the cool earthy green color of the walls to the careful arrangement of every piece of furniture, everything had to be perfect. This was their first baby after all, and anxiety mixed with her excitement had her obsessing over every little detail.

She slowly rose from the chair to stand directly in front of the crib where she imagined her son would lie. Caressing the delicate cloth of the bedding with the tip of her fingers a spontaneous feeling of warmth spreading through her. In that moment nothing else mattered, not roaring of the thunder or the pellets of rain that slammed harshly against the windows. All it took was a gentle kick and a light fluttering sensation for her to realize that she wasn't alone at all, she had her son and in a moment of complete apprehension it was all she needed. Looking down at her protruding navel she smiled sweetly, slipping a hand under her shirt to stroke her very pregnant belly. Her skin felt smooth and taut as it stretched over her womb.

Elena still couldn't wrapped her head around the reality of loving someone so much before even meeting them, before learning their name or looking into their eyes. It was a strangest thing and yet the best feeling in the world. It may have taken her months to inevitably succumb his father's charms, but the little guy taking up residence in her womb had her heart the moment she learned of his existence. The second she saw that little pink plus sign even amidst all the fear and doubt, deep down her heart swelled with the kind of joy that only the prospect of bringing a tiny human into the world could bring.

She pushed the small closet open to find some remaining gifts that she'd neglected to open from Caroline's version of a baby shower. Deciding she needed something to pass some time she slowly brought herself to sit on the plush rug that partly covered the hardwood floors. Elena immediately began to look through the gifts separating the many toys from the onesies and even a diaper dispenser. A small package then caught her eye. Picking it up she examined it closely. She looked for a sender but there was none.

She eyed the package suspiciously. On the surface it looked like any of the other gifts, wrapped in the appropriate shiny gift wrap with the words congratulations in repeated patterns, but she couldn't recall any of her guests carrying such a gift. She shook it vigorously still unable to make out what it was. It felt hard beneath the tips of her fingers so she knew it couldn't be clothes. Feeling around some more she ruled out a toy, the only thing that came to mind was perhaps a book.

Slowly and reluctantly she peeled back the layers of gift wrap and revealing the mysterious gift little by little. It wasn't a book but a photo album instead. Her brows furrowed in confusion when she realized that it had already been filled with photos. It couldn't be from Caroline or Bonnie as her friends would have demanded she open it right away, no way would it have sat in her closet untouched for weeks. But no one else came to mind as the potential gift-giver.

Soon that niggling feeling she'd felt all morning found its way back, eating away at her subconscious, as if she was about to get herself into something she was completely unprepared to deal with. Looking sternly at the book she was determined to get to the bottom of it, pulling back the cover her eyes fell on the first picture and instantly the pain welled up inside her, her eyes stung with unshed tears as she dissolved into a sobbing heap on the floor.

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><p>After thirty minutes spent parked in front of a gray building cooped up in his blue Camaro it was becoming increasingly obvious that the rain wasn't about to let up. Damon could barely make out his surroundings with the fog that covered his windshield. The only thing he could make out was the loud whistling of the wind and the occasional tree branch sprawled across the glass in front of him.<p>

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone and scrolled down to Elena's name.

_**Something really important just came up; I'll tell you about it at home, stay away from windows and be safe. I Love you. –Damon**_

He threw the phone over to the passenger's side, contemplating how he'd manage to make it inside the building without injuring himself. His phone beeped as a message appeared on the screen.

_**Yeah. Whatever. Hurry home. - Elena**_

He couldn't help but chuckle as he could clearly see her irritation. Elena wasn't used to being cooped up at home sitting idle; she was a used to working and getting things done. After a few moments spent in his car doing nothing he could practically empathize with her plight. But her doctor had ordered a lot of rest, and at that point it didn't matter how completely stir crazy it made her, he told her it was nonnegotiable.

His phone beeped again.

_**Sorry. God, I'm such a bitch. I love you. - Elena **_

This time he actually laughed out loud, she never ceased to surprise him with her colorful mood swings. For a second he thinks he might even miss them when she's no longer pregnant.

After exchanging a few more messages, he slipped his phone into his pocket and slowly cracked the door of the car open to assess just how bad the weather really was. It hadn't gotten any better, in fact it might have gotten worst since the last time he tried to leave his car, but Damon decided that wasn't going to stop him from getting to where he needed to be. After receiving the phone-call from Elijah that afternoon while still at his office he decided they needed to meet right away. He needed whatever little bit of information on Katherine that he could get his hands on, and with the shit load of money he was giving this guy to dig up the dirt on her, he knew it better be worth it.

Ever since Damon left Katherine's apartment a few weeks back, he'd been as obsessed with her whereabouts as she was with his. He just knew she was up to something and he wasn't about to let it sneak up on him like all those other times. With a baby due in only a few short weeks he couldn't afford to be oblivious anymore, no this time he was going to be one step ahead of Miss Katherine Pierce and figure out exactly what she was up to.

Once outside he felt the harsh winds nearly knocking him down as he ran toward shelter. Once inside he was greeted by a large man who had to weigh at least a ton and stood over six feet tall.

"What's your business here?" The man asked bluntly.

"I'm here to see a Mr. Elijah Smith." Damon informed him, he was less than thrilled with the guys tone, but he figured he had bigger fish to fry.

"You have an appointment?"

"Yeah. As a matter of fact I do." Damon said, annoyance seeping out of every word.

"Let him in." He heard a voice call out from behind one of the doors. It was a pretty small office space, the outside looked rather sketchy but the inside was really nice.

"Damon Salvatore." Holding his hand out the moment he walked into office. Elijah was a retired federal agent, from the looks of his office; Damon could tell he was a decorated officer as he studied the many plaques and awards hanging against the wall. He seemed rather old school and sophisticated. He wore a sharply tailored suit his hair parted on one side.

"Elijah. We spoke earlier." The older man took his hand shaking it firmly. "Have a seat."

Damon sat down on one of the cushiony chairs; anticipating whatever it is the man had to say. "So what do you have for me?"

"Ah I'm afraid I don't have good news, or it depends what you see as good news." He said coolly.

"Good news would be you telling me what the hell Katherine's up to." Damon answered bluntly.

"That I can't tell you, but I can only tell you what I've observed." Elijah informed. He pulled out a file from a nearby filing cabinet. Spreading the pictures over his desks he picked one up and held it in front of Damon.

"It seems Miss Katherine has had a few meetings with this fellow here." Elijah explained. "Over the last week they've met three times. Do you know her relation to him?"

Damon eyes the picture intently. The guy in the picture was blonde and that's pretty much all he could make out. "Isn't it your job to know who he is?" He asked annoyingly.

"Ah... I didn't say I didn't, but it's important for me to find out what you know as well."

"So who the hell is he?" Damon asked the older man.

"Remember when I said I didn't have good news? Well this is what I meant." Elijah started. "This guy right there is Nicklaus Mikaelson, one of the most notorious mob bosses in the country."

"So what's he doing with Katherine?"

"That's what we're going to find out." He said. "Is there any reason why she'd be involved with someone like Nicklaus?"

"I told you that her mom disappeared a few weeks ago, after contacting me about her." Damon was wracking his brain trying to put the pieces together. "Could it be connected?"

The other man studied the file closely. "Very possible, but why would he still be in contact with her if the deed was done?"

"I don't know. Katherine is a psychotic bitch. Who knows what kind of crazy shit she's cooking up as we speak?" Damon couldn't even hide the apprehension in his tone as he spoke. He didn't know what he expected to find, but among the last thing he anticipated to hear was that she was in cahoots with some murderous gangster.

"I have a friend who owes me a favor and he just so happens to work for the NYPD, I'll give him a call and see what details I can get on Mrs. Pierce's disappearance."

"Let me know whatever you find." Damon demanded urgently.

"Will do."

The two men shook hands and Elijah handed Damon a copy of the file. "You might want to go over every detail of this… You never know, something could jog your memory or maybe your wife knows something." He squeezed Damon's shoulders affectionately.

Taking the file in his hand, his head still swirling with the information he'd just gathered, Damon left Elijah's office in a haze of confusion.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes exactly. That's how long it took for her sobs to subside before she could turn to the next page of book of photos in front of her. Her heart clenched at turn of the page. Their smiles were almost haunting, filling her with a feeling of complete loss almost rivaling the moment she learned of their deaths. But amidst the grief was a bittersweet feeling, a fleeting joy, a moment of bliss. To relive the more cheerful moments of their all too short time together was a rare gift and whoever sent her that album seemed to understand the effect it would have on her.<p>

Through the tears she smiled up as she looked at the photo of herself as an infant, wrapped up in a pink blanket in her mother's arms as Miranda let the tears of joy spilled down her cheeks. Photos of her first holidays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas decorated the next page of the photo album. Even though she was too young to remember most of them, she found herself comforted just watching the love and adoration in her parent's eyes, as they looked down at her like she was the most precious thing they'd ever laid eyes on. She realized they'd never stopped looking at her and Jeremy that way even as they grew up and became bratty and at times spoiled teenagers. As long as their parents were alive they never felt unloved.

As she continued to turn the pages, Jeremy arrived in a bundle similar to her, and their little family was complete. Just the four of them. When she reached the end of the album she didn't even realize as her eyes filled up with tears. Conflicting feelings of utter joy and heartbreaking sadness swirled in her chest nearly making it impossible to breath. Her cheeks were drenched with tears and she reached to close the book but not before a small card fell out and landed on her lap.

_**I'm sorry I haven't been there. I'm trying to get my life together so I can be someone you're proud of- Love Jeremy**_

She smiled wondering why she hadn't guessed it before. Only Jeremy would have had access to those photos and only her brother would know what they'd mean to her. They rarely spoke of their parents since that fateful day, but she knew he missed them as much as she did. She felt tears stinging her eyes again as she finally pushed the book closed. She let them fall freely, both in bittersweet joy and sadness until she was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.

_Finally. _She thought as she hastily she wiped away the tears from her face not wanting Damon to realize she was crying. Stopping at one of the mirrors in the hall she checked her appearance and the image staring back at her was a complete mess. Her eyes were puffy, her nose was red and she had mascara running down her face. She ran into the nearest bathroom and splashed her face with water before drying off with a towel.

The door bell kept ringing incessantly and by the time she managed to wobble down the stairs she was getting agitated.

"Where the hell are your keys Damon?" She shouted from the foyer. "You know I can only walk so fast."

By the time she swung the door open a blush stained her cheeks as she realized that the person standing outside her door wasn't Damon.

"I'm so sorry clearly this isn't a good time. I'm sorry for the inconvenience," the young man before her apologized. "It's just… My car broke down a block from here and you're the first person who's answered the door."

Elena immediately felt bad for shouting at the poor kid. He was drenched from the rain and she could make out little twigs and leaves in his curly hair from the wind's assaults.

"I just need to dial my buddies' phone number so he can give me a ride." He pleaded. "My phone fell in a puddle." He held out a phone that was clearly water damaged.

Elena didn't have the heart to turn him away in such treacherous weather and besides he looked harmless enough. She was barely holding the door open as the wind seemed intent on slamming it shut or dragging her outside, she could only imagine what the poor guy had gone through having to walk even a block in such a storm.

"Come on in. The phone is in the kitchen." She stepped aside letting him walk pass her.

He immediately walked toward the kitchen grabbing the phone and Elena heard him make arrangements to be picked up.

"I'll be outside, I don't want to intrude." He announced when hung up.

"Don't be silly. What kind of person would I be if I let you sit out there in the rain?" She smiled warmly at him. "Maybe I can make you something to drink, would you like some hot chocolate?"

"Oh I couldn't possibly ask that of you."

"I insist."

Twenty minutes later she put a mug of hot chocolate in his hands.

"I guess congratulations are in order." He said looking down at her stomach.

"Thanks." Elena said politely.

"It must be very exciting."

"Yeah we're pretty excited." She sat across from him on a kitchen stool.

"I suppose that means there's a Mister?" He said in a disappointing tone, giving her a charming smile.

"Something like that." She nodded laughing at his not so subtle attempt.

"What kind of man would leave a woman like you all alone in such weather?"

"He has a very important job." Elena clarified, not quite getting where this was going.

"Isn't that what they always say?" He gave her a smile.

A moment of awkward silence followed that statement and she started realizing that she was playing host to a complete stranger.

"So are you from around here?" She asked in genuine curiosity.

"Yes and no." He smiled. "I sometimes do business here, but mostly I'm from out of town."

"What kind of business do you run?"

"Well I—"

Before he finished his statement Elena heard a loud honking coming from outside.

"I guess that's my cue." He reached out to shake her hand. "Thank you for your generous hospitality Ms. …."

"Elena." She finished.

"Miss Elena. Of course." He pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her hand and she led him out of the house.

Elena turned her attention to the empty mug on her kitchen table and brought it over to the sink where she washed it clean. God she was so desperate for some grown up conversation that she actually felt disappointed that this random guy had to leave. She was becoming one of those desperate housewives she often watched on television. Bonnie and Caroline were both too busy with their jobs to entertain her and whenever Damon was gone she was left to her own devices.

Even with all the excitement of having this baby, she had to admit she missed her career. A few months before she found out she was pregnant she was planning to open a restaurant, but soon realized that planning for a baby while trying to open a business simultaneously was just about impossible.

She was forced out of her thoughts when she heard keys in the door. She turned the water off and dried off her hands.

The second he stepped inside the house, she had her arms wrapped around his torso as far as it they could go, her face buried in his chest inhaling his scent. It was as if every weird feeling she felt that day completely dissolved and no longer mattered, she was in his arms and everything was okay, even if they actually weren't. There had to be some kind of weird diagnosis for whatever pathological co-dependent thing she had going on with him. No person should be able to alter her mood so drastically with just their presence.

"Well apparently I've been missed." He whispered wrapping both arms around her and planting a kiss against her forehead.

"Where the hell were you?" She asked her voice muffled by his chest.

He pushed her back gently to get a look at her face. "I met with Elijah the- …you were crying." He nearly accused stopping mid sentence to state his observation.

"I was not!" She denied defensively. God, how the hell could he even tell? At least an hour and a half must have passed since the last tear rolled off her cheeks.

"I'm not stupid Elena. I think I can tell when you've been crying." He gave her a knowing look and she knew it was pointless to argue.

"Fine, but it was nothing." She lied.

"People don't cry over nothing." He challenged. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong Damon, I just got a little sad that's all." She huffed in frustration. "I am allowed to be sad aren't I?"

"Of course not! What the hell gave you that idea?" He gave her a look of incredulity. "No one's allowed to be sad without telling me what's wrong."

"I don't have to tell you everything Damon; you're not the boss of me" She gave him her famous squinty eyed glare.

"You're right." He conceded. "Come here," he said leading her back into the kitchen. Before Elena knew what was happening Damon had hoisted her up on the kitchen counter a look of triumph on his face.

"You're gonna tell me what's wrong, or your feet will never touch the ground again." He threatened with a smile.

"Damon this isn't funny."

"I think it's hilarious, because I remember us here in the same spot about six months ago." He mused.

"You're still the same jackass!" She yelled.

"Take all the time you need Elena. I'm in no rush." He ran a hand through her silky locks before having it smacked away. "I'll feed you three times a day, but you're gonna sit here as long as it takes to come clean Love."

"What if I need to use the bathroom?" She challenged raising an eyebrow at him.

"There are a million pots in this kitchen. You can put them to use." He laughed at the look of disgust in her face.

"That is disgusting; I use those things to cook." She said before tossing the roll of paper towels at him.

Damon ducked letting the roll of napkins hit the wall behind him. His laughter escalating and soon it was hard for her to keep that look of annoyance on her face as her lips threatened to curl upward. With his right hand he started tickling one of her bare feet until she dissolved into a fit of giggles.

When their laughter subsided he placed himself between her legs, a tender look passing between them. "Come on Elena, tell me what's wrong." He asked earnestly.

"I'm fine Damon. It was a fleeting moment of sadness, I promise." She took his larger hands in her small ones. "I'm okay." She said in the most reassuring tone she could muster.

"You don't get it Elena. That's not the point." He said almost in frustration. "How can I prevent you from feeling that way again, if I don't know what's causing you to feel that way in the first place?"

Somehow he managed to make _her_ feel bad. _How the hell did that happen?_ Elena wondered, but she really didn't feel like rehashing those emotions again.

"Damon, just forget about it. Okay?"

"Whatever, I got a few secrets of my own, so let me know when you're ready to exchange." He was about to walk away before he felt her pull at his shirt.

"What are you talking about?" She asked unsure if she should bite.

"Well let's just say I paid a certain private investigator a visit today and there's some things you ought to know." He took out the file and waved it in her face.

"Damon that's serious. You can't keep that from me." She challenged.

"And you spending your day here crying isn't serious?" Damon gave her a wide –eyed stare. "As far as I'm concerned what you're keeping from me is a hundred times more serious." He added.

Elena contemplated her next move. On one hand she really didn't feel like sharing but it was killing her not knowing what was in those files.

_Dammit!_ "Fine!" She relented. "But you're gonna have to carry me upstairs since you're so strong and you just like to lift me so much."

He laughed as he swooped her into his arms bridal style feigning back pain and earning him a gentle smack.

When they got upstairs she pointed at the nursery and it only served to further confuse him. Once inside the nursery he looked down at the photo book lying on the floor. He placed her gently on the ground and took a seat next to her.

"What's this?" he questioned as she handed the book to him.

"Just look at it."

Damon flipped the page open his confusion only growing as he looked at the picture of the woman holding a baby girl in his arms. It took a moment for it all to piece together in his mind as he flipped through the book.

"You're parents." It was more like a statement than a question. His face contorted into a painful expression.

"Yeah." Elena simply replied. "I was in here going through the gifts we never got to opened and it turns out Jeremy sent it to me."

Damon was still looking through the pictures of her and her family. He couldn't get over how genuinely happy they all looked, and could only imagined how painful it must have been for her to lose them both. He and his father barely tolerated each other, but it was still painful to watch the old man go. So the thought of Elena having to lose people that she genuinely cherished and who cherished her was completely unfathomable to him.

"I'm sorry." He said genuinely. "I had no idea this was… I understand if you don't want to talk about it."He could barely find comforting enough words and he was beginning to feel like a jerk for pushing her to open up.

"It's okay, you were worried." She smiled. "I just miss them, and seeing these pictures made me a little sad."

He shook his head in understanding and pulled her against him placing a soft kiss against her forehead.

"I guess you never get used to not having a family." She whispered to no one really.

"Now you know that's not true." He gave her a stern look. "You still have plenty of family. I know your parents can't be replaced, but you have the two of the best friends in the world that would do just about anything for you. You have a brother who pulled himself together just to be a part of your life again. And you have me and my crazy family" He let out a laugh and paused for a second. "More importantly we're about to start a family of our own."

She took his hand in hers again placing it against her stomach. "Yeah we are aren't we?" The thought did give her all kinds of warm fuzzies. Maybe her comfort in his presence wasn't all that irrational or pathological after all. The man did know how to make her feel at ease.

"I love you." He whispered, his breath tickling her ear lobe.

"Yeah whatever, show me the file Salvatore. You got what you wanted." She laughed at him feigning hurt.

"Say the magic words." He teased.

"Please?"

"Wrong!" He taunted.

"Fine I love you." She said.

"Uh-uh, like you mean it and you have to show it." He demanded wagging his finger.

She straddled his lap and pressed his lips against hers slowly parting her lips and allowing him access to her mouth. They kissed heatedly as her tongue explored the contours of his mouth, her hands gripping his raven locks and kissing him until they were both breathless.

"I love you." She whispered.

"Now you may have access to my top secret files." He stated.

"Did he find out what Katherine is up to?" Elena looked closely at the files spread on the floor.

"No, but apparently she met with some mob guy a few times. And Elijah's gonna try to get more details on her mother's disappearance in New York."

"You think the situation with her mother and the mob guy might be related?" she asked

"That's the theory so far." Damon informed. "But we have no solid evidence."

Elena sighed heavily. "Boy you sure know how to pick'em."

"Hey I swear she wasn't this crazy when I dated her, and besides I picked you." Elena rolled her eyes at his comment.

"Is that all he found?" She looked in the folder pulling out a photo. In it she could make out Katherine and another guy.

"Yeah that's the picture of her and this mob guy Nicklaus or something like that."

"Damon I know who this is." She looked over at him her eyes were almost unreadable.

"Are you sure." He took t the picture out of her hands to study it.

"Yeah… I'm pretty sure he was here today." She replied absently.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Leave a review and let me know what you think. :)<strong>


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